Top photo: the
Munk’s off-grid
home in rural
Northern
Humboldt
County. Left:
hand built and
painted shed
on the property

From left to right: Bonnie, Crow and Linda Munk, Osha and Jaime

Meet our neighbors
Crow and Linda “Nana” Munk, Sunny Brae Customers

We don’t go to big box stores. We shop
only at little stores that buy local products
and Murphy’s is our favorite!” says Nana.
“We bring homemade sauerkraut for Cole
in the meat department and cords of
wood to share with the Murphy’s folks.”

He and Nana add ﬂourishes to everything
in their gracious world. A little birdhouse
here and that little bit of extra attention
to woodwork on the out buildings adds
a gentle style to their land. They paint
murals on the walls, too.

“We have no cell phones or TV or an
answering machine for our phone at the
house,” says Crow. Nana and Crow have
lived off the grid for 25 years. They grow
as much of their food as possible and
trade for most anything else. “Bear, deer,
mountain lions, ringtail cats, ﬁshers and
martins,” says Nana, “we see them all
the time. We used to see more spotted
owls but now its barn owls.” Crow has cut
and milled the beautiful wood for their
comfortable house and the out buildings.

They harvest up to 300 pounds of walnuts
each year to store or use for trade. They
also grow over 500 garlics a year which
Crow braids for storage, beauty, trade
and giving. They even have a kiwi arbor.
“We store the kiwis in egg cartons and
they keep all winter in the root cellar,”
says Nana. One of the other buildings is a
smoker. Hot peppers are grown in the hot
house, smoked and made into chipolte
for meat rubs.

Years ago, Nana and Crow ran a
wilderness school for foster children in
Idaho and California. “We had kids from
all over,” says Crow. “They would stay for
a few weeks and learn about living off
the land. Ann E Casey Foundation — her
son founded UPS — was the sponsor for
10-12 children at a time to come to our
wilderness school.”
“We do Tai Chi everyday with a teacher
and we play music everyday so we
boogie!” says Nana. “We make it into
town to Murphy’s about once a month
and we can visit our granddaughter,
Osha, at the same time. Bless you all!”

The North Coast Journal is a weekly
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A Touching Choice
Editor:
High praise for Josephine Johnson’s
cover story about euthanasia, “Choosing
Death” (April 25). The article was beautifully written, very moving, complete
with facts about the procedure and how
it affected the couple and their family.
This subject has been around for a long
time and still needs coverage for understanding. The subject was my first feature
article for United Press International in
1972. (I told my brother I had written an
article about euthanasia and he said he
didn’t think I knew anything about kids in
Asia.) Josephine Johnson brought the issue
home in a very personal way. When I came
to the end it was like putting down a good
book.
Dave Rosso, Eureka
Editor:
I wish to thank Josephine Johnson
and the Journal for their fair treatment
of Betty and Reg Dawson’s end-of-life
story. Talking with Josephine about our
experience gave Dominic and me time for
reflection, and some closure.
Betty and Reg were special people:
clever, humble, polite, reserved, dignified,
kind and generous. The saying “we
die and give birth as we live” seems
to fit their experience.
As someone who works in the
Humboldt birthing community, I
see that just as it is with birth, the
way we die matters. The choices
we make as we prepare to give
birth and as we prepare to die affect us emotionally, physically and
spiritually. And our choices affect
those around us. Reg and Betty
Dawson gave tremendous thought
and care in creating their final passage, an end that was dignified and
ended years of suffering. It is one
of the most powerful experiences
of my life to have witnessed such
brilliant clarity amidst such suffering. After watching my dear grandmother suffer with Alzheimer’s for
over two years, it gave me comfort
to be close to Reg and Betty who
died intentionally, with distinction
and grace, and in the presence of
their loved ones.
The Dignitas staff present at
their deaths deserve mention.
These two women were in essence
midwives for Reg and Betty’s
final passage. They were there to
comfort, to answer questions and
to create a sacred and safe space

for their final breaths. They never hurried
Betty or Reg in their process. They shouldered a heavy weight that day, midwifing
the death processes of not one but two
human beings, and they did so with immense professional compassion, and a rare
capacity for patience. In our constantly
moving lives, it is important that birth and
death be given the time and attention
they need.
Tina George, Arcata

VA Valuable
Editor:
I am writing as a partially disabled
combat infantry veteran of Vietnam,
regarding your recent article “The Long
Wait,” (April 18) about the new VA clinic
in Eureka. We live on a cattle ranch near
Petrolia, almost 50 miles from Eureka. I
have been using the VA since 1994 when
my private insurance became impossible
to maintain. While I agree that the previous privately contracted VA clinic operated by Drs. Craig and Swenson was very
well-run, I believe that the new VA clinic is
not nearly so bad as Heidi Walters implies.
While it has had some start-up problems
and difficulty retaining doctors, so far, it is
still functioning better than many hospital

What got kicked down
Seven years seemed impossible
As a young man he had seemed
Impossible that he had been here seven
Years and still he found himself still
On the Plaza
With hand outstretched
Sliding from one oil stained corner to another he
Mocked those college students and berated
The shop owners
As capitalist tools
Because he was free to live his life without
Monetary attachments like his stupid family he
Could get by with what got kicked down
And sure
Seven years was a long time
To be in one place
But then there always
Was Portland.
— Seth M. Smith VI

CARTOON BY JOEL MIELKE

emergency rooms or privately run clinics.
I have had to make two hurried appointments for a serious respiratory infection in the past week, and both times was
able to consult with a visiting physician
from Ukiah. Dr. Shepard was most helpful.
My waiting time is usually not more than
10 minutes at the new VA clinic. The rest
of the staff have been universally polite,
respectful and helpful, and include several
nurses and medical personnel who have
served the Humboldt veteran community
very well in both the former and present
VA clinics. I want to publicly commend all
of them and reassure others in the public
and the veterans’ community.
John M.G. Brown, Petrolia

CR is History
Editor:
Eighteen years ago, the president of
College of Redwoods saw the importance
of a historic preservation program and
HPRT was born (“Re-imagining CR,” April
11). Historic Preservation and Restoration
Technology teaches the intricacies of
historic preservation in all of its aspects.
The HPRT program has trained 10
DANCO employees at the Samoa site,
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
employees and CCC’s; helped Point Cabrillo restoration, the Falk Engine House
completion, mold casting of the intricate
details on the upper façade of the Arkley
Center which had been slated for perma-

nent removal and Carson Mansion floor
plan documentation; completed 50 state
survey forms and barn assessments.
HPRT obtained over $300,000 in grants
for tools from the Carl Perkins Endowment for Career Technical Education. The
Ink People have received $94,000 through
community donations for the Annie B.
Ryan House, which is a hands-on HPRT
project. In addition, another $45,000 has
been donated toward the Annie B. Ryan
House because of HPRT.
After the 1906 earthquake, San Francisco Bay Area was rebuilt using local
redwood. As our building stock ages, we
need vast numbers of trained crafts persons in all aspects of the trades in historic
preservation to address the needs. The
HPRT program is the only program west of
the Mississippi that teaches students how
to restore historical buildings.
The spin-off of this program has long
lasting effects on our communities and
how we care for our environment. Please
continue to support the HPRT program.
Alexandra Stillman, Arcata

Write a letter!
Please try to make your letter no more
than 300 words and include your full
name, place of residence and phone number (we won’t print your number). Send it
to letters@northcoastjournal.com
l
northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

5

views

Should public funds be used
to study an East-West rail line?
NO

YES

By John Murray

By Lance Madsen

S

ome years back, when I called
the North-South railroad and
its backers Idealistic Dreamers
Involved in Our Transportation
System (IDIOTS for brevity),
you might have thought that I was
anti-railroad. Such is not the case. A
railroad would do wonders for our local
economy. What I am against is using
public funds on an endeavor like that
one, which had two studies done, each
showing the line would lose public
money! When the East-West (EW) proposal first surfaced at the Eureka City
Council over a year ago, I went to participate in the discussion. Bill Barnum
caught me off-guard when he pitched
the proposal, and he stated that this
was a project to be undertaken by the
private sector. I have no qualms with
what people want to do with their own
money, so I told the council a railroad
would be nice — but keep a tight hold
on your tax dollars.
Something changed! Now the EW
proponents want a $300,000 Caltrans
grant to do a feasibility study. That is not
private financing; that is our tax money.
This process, now that public funds are
being sought, rankles me on a couple of
fronts: First, why are public monies being
sought to find out if some Rich Opportunistic Businessman (ROB for short)
can make money? The ROB should use
his own money. A prime example of this
arose in 1982, when Exxon was considering Humboldt Bay as a location to build
oil platforms for the Santa Barbara Channel. The oil company paid the county
about $2 million to do a lot of the work
required. It did not ask the public to
check things out and let Exxon know if it
will work. In the end, it had the platforms
constructed in Korea.
Second, before anyone invests even
seed money, it is prudent for either the
public or private sector to prepare a

quickie pre-feasibility study to see if this
project even has a chance of succeeding.
I have sat through one of the presentations asking for people to support an
expensive feasibility study. What will be
hauled, what route will you take, what
will it cost .... the answer is the feasibility
study will tell us. Currently all we have is
a line on a map and a request for money.
We have been told it will not be containers or coal as a cargo, but once a railroad
is in place I don’t think anyone but the
ROB has a say in what is hauled. You definitely do not want to build it and hope
they will come.
Not seeing a pre-feasibility study from
the proponents ( I can’t even get a return
call from the chairman and vice-chairman
of the East-West committee to find out
when its next meeting is going to occur in
this transparent public process), I phoned
a friend with 40 years’ experience in
giant port/rail projects, and he roughed
one out. The line is 130 miles long, at a
track cost of $1,000 per foot. We need
additional money for environmental
documents, earthwork, drainage, bridges,
ample sidings for two-way rail traffic,
signals and right of way acquisition; so
we are using $3,000 per foot for the main
line. In round numbers that is $2 billion.
We still need port development, locomotives, design, permits, and because we are
early in the project, a hefty contingency
fund. So we are looking at $3 billion to get
this running.
With the limitations of our port, it
could handle an estimated 50 million
tons per year of commodities if freight
and ships were available 100 percent of
the time. A rail car holds about 100 tons.
That means we could see 500,000 train
cars per year, one way. That equates to
1,370 cars per day, one way. If we convert
to going in both directions and estimate
100-car trains, we have in excess of a 1.5
continued on page 8

6 NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013 • northcoastjournal.com

O

n the issue of an East-West rail
line, there are those who promote the notion of “no public
funding for the feasibility study
at all,” or “if there is a need, let
the private sector do the study.” Those
comments suggest that no state or federal
funds should be used in a feasibility study.
If this is to save taxpayers money, it must
be noted that state and federally funded
programs already exist. They are competitive and were designed to help local
entities develop solutions to local and
regional issues. The taxpayer funds will
be spent either in or out of our region.
By not competing for these funds, we are
actually promoting other regions of the
state or nation instead of our own.
It is probable that a wholly privately
funded feasibility study could be completed with little or no public input.
In that case, the first time the public
might get to review and comment on
the private work product would be after
information has been collected, analysis
completed and a plan developed. In addition, it is entirely probable that information generated by a privately generated
study would be proprietary and thus not
available for public review. I would venture
to predict that the same individuals or
groups who do not want to spend public
monies on this study would then complain loudly about the lack of transparency and accountability of a private study
that might lead to an actual project.
Public funding for all or part of the feasibility study is desirable to ensure public
transparency and accountability. From the
beginning of public discussion about funding an East-West rail feasibility study, there
has been a very clear message: “There
would be no expenditure of local general
fund money spent on the study.” That message is at the heart of the memorandum
of agreement that formed the UpState
RailConnect Committee. The committee

consists of the city of Eureka, the counties of Humboldt, Trinity and Tehama, and
others dedicated to the feasibility study
process. A minor amount of staff time by
all member agencies was used to establish the UpState RailConnect Committee,
which first met in November 2012.
By design, the committee has used
volunteers, a nonprofit organization and
a small state grant to coordinate regionwide support, provide public education
presentations, assist in the public process
and research public funding. A partially or
wholly publicly funded study using guidelines being developed by the UpState RailConnect Committee will guarantee public
involvement throughout, from crafting
the scope of work to reviewing data and
draft and final reports. As proof of the sincerity of this public process, the UpState
RailConnect Committee has proposed
approximately 23 public meetings during
the feasibility study process.
Elected officials create and shape public policy during their service on policymaking bodies. To form good policy, every
elected official should seek out and use
factually based information. With a publicly funded study, elected officials and
the public are guaranteed access to study
information. The UpState RailConnect
Committee was formed specifically to
ensure that the feasibility study process
was as open as possible and that it was
funded with the minimal financial impact
to these local agencies. Thus far, it has
been successful on both counts.
“Do not spend public monies” is not a
new argument. The feasibility studies and
designs of many fully or partly publicly
funded projects have been subject to the
same objections. They range from the redevelopment of Old Town and downtown
Eureka to the Wharfinger Building and the
public marina. All have benefited Eureka,
creating and sustaining longterm jobs and
continued on page 8

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northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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views

Should public funds be used to study an East-West rail line?

No …

Yes …

continued from page 6

continued from page 6

mile train at each street crossing every
hour every day. At this point my expert
started using rules of thumb for private
financing and indicated banks would allow seven years of financing, i.e., would
require repayment at the rate of $500
million per year. (The short repayment
period is due to the proposed new
venture having no collateral; either a
large railroad company or a government
body’s tax base has the collateral for a
30-year loan or bond.) That means the
train operator would have to add a fee
of $10 per ton, or $1,000 per rail car,
over and above the charges for normal
operations and profit. That would put
hauling costs 10 times higher than those
on alternate routes that my friend is
familiar with — or five times higher if

there is a backhaul commodity. If the
ROB gets 30-year financing it still appears unworkable.
I have put my numbers out here for the
ROB and IDIOTS to scoff at, but I have at
least made something public so we can
discuss this rather than pursuing a dream
that may not be attainable. Poke holes in
this; it is a starting point. I hope you can,
because a train would be nice. But government agencies should not be spending
money or underwriting loans on this; nor
should anyone else until we see some
numbers from the ROB. l
John Murray, a registered civil engineer,
is a former public works director and a
former county administrative officer for
Humboldt County.

innovative local businesses.
The economic viability of the proposed rail lies in its use as a “land bridge”
between the port and the national rail
network. This creates jobs for existing
residents and is limited in scope with
regard to new corporate development.
The population of the region would likely
remain steady while the unemployment
rate would drop through high-paying,
benefitted jobs. Local agencies and local
communities would benefit from taxation
and fees associated with increased port
usage, and local business through lower
transportation costs. Our existing population and resource markets do not merit
local import/export port utilization. This
has resulted in the neglected condition
and underutilization of our port. Creating

a land bridge would bring money into the
community for projects that will enhance
our way of life and our environment,
through both increased incomes and environmental quality.
In 1990 when addressing the EastWest rail concept, Journal publisher Judy
Hodgson wrote “A century later, it may
be an idea whose time has come.” With a
partially or a wholly publicly funded feasibility study, Judy may be right. l
Lance Madsen, a Eureka city
councilman, is chairman of the UpState
RailConnect Committee and the
contact agent listed with the California
Secretary of State for the Land Bridge
Alliance, which supports a feasibility
study for an East-West rail line.

Blog Jammin’

Work It!

ENVIRONMENT / BY RYAN BURNS /
APRIL 24

Record Heat
The temperature at the Arcata-Eureka
Airport maxed out at 79 degrees today.
Seventy-freaking-nine! That sets a record for April 24, obliterating the previous
high of 68 degrees set exactly 100 years
ago, according to the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
The record high for all of April is 80
degrees, set on April 9, 1989. Meanwhile,
Bridgeville hit 85 degrees at 1 p.m.; Fortuna
reached 78 degrees at 1:46 p.m.; and even
Crescent City hit a toasty 72 degrees.
Eureka also set a new record, reaching a
balmy 70 degrees.
Just last week, curiously, the Arcata-Eureka Airport came within a single degree
of tying the coldest temperature on
record for April 16. The mercury dipped to
35 degrees, flirting with the low mark of
34 set in 1975.
Global warming may spell doom for
humanity, but dang if it ain’t nice today!
●

A new Journal photo contest

BIRDS, WILDLIFE / BY BARRY EVANS /
APRIL 24 PLUS UPDATES

Hatched!
Two bald eagle chicks have made
celebrity appearances in a nest watched
over by a remote camera. One chick has
been named Kyle, after the property
owner’s nephew, and the other will be
named by school kids.
See our website for links to the eagle
cam and details on the contest.
●

We all love to play, but work helps keep Humboldt
going — our labor and the work of others make it
possible for us to eat, drink, heal, learn, read, drive and
so much more. So celebrate Humboldt at Work with the
North Coast Journal’s photo contest. Take photos —
the real thing only, no Photoshop please — of working
life in Humboldt County any time between May 1
and May 15, 2013, and email them to photocontest@
northcoastjournal.com no later than 10 a.m. on Thursday,
May 16. Whether it’s a rancher with his herd, a doctor
in her scrubs or a grower tending his crop,
there’s beauty to be captured.
The details: In your email, please include the
time, date and place of each picture; the names
of those photographed (from left to right);
your name and a daytime phone number. Don’t
worry — we won’t publish your phone number
— but we will publish lots of winning entries
and runners up. You may enter up to three high
resolution jpg files, but please keep each email under 10 MB.
Grand prize is a working person’s feast: dinner for six at Porter
Street Barbeque and a case of beer from Mad River Brewing.

READ FULL POSTS AND SEE PHOTOS AT

www.northcoastjournal.com/blogthing

northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

9

T

STILL
HAVING
FUN

he sun was just coming out of
the clouds when Abe Stevens
answered the door to the spacious Fortuna warehouse that
houses his distillery. Beams
of sunlight shone in through
skylights, haloing the small still
standing in the center of the building.
Bright copper and silver, the still was
dwarfed by the expanse of the room,
which takes up an eighth of a 10th Street
block just off Main Street.
It feels like too much space for one
man and a 60-gallon liquor machine, but it
allows him to store bottles and ingredients, distill and test his products, have an
office, and put together a small tasting
counter for what he hopes will be thirsty
future customers.
Plus, he’s optimistic. “This is on the
smaller side,” he said. “Hopefully it will
prove to be too small.”
Stevens is a thin man who looks younger than his 37 years. This April morning, he
walks briskly around his distillery, sheepishly clearing off countertops around
the shop and fiddling with papers and
equipment. The space is clean, but with
the clutter of a young business.
Stevens grew up in Fortuna. Went to
Fortuna High School. After getting a degree in chemistry in Chicago, he worked in
the biotech industry in New York City and
the San Francisco Bay Area. For the last
six years, Stevens invested in real estate in
Des Moines, Iowa — an opportunity that
came his way but wasn’t as fulfilling as
tinkering with chemistry.
Homebrewing beer had long been
a hobby for Stevens, and he had been
thinking micro-distilling could
also be appealing — then he
noticed boutique distilleries taking off around

the country.
“I thought ‘Uh oh, they’re stealing my
idea,’” he said.
Stevens had gotten experience distilling — a physical process, rather than
a chemical reaction, that concentrates
or purifies solutions — in an industrial
setting in his post-college career. He
hadn’t ever tried distilling alcohol until he
founded Humboldt Distillery, though. It’s
illegal without the right permits, in part
because it’s dangerous. Alcohol vapor is
highly flammable.
Stevens and his wife had eyes on
Humboldt County since the birth of their
daughter, who is now 3. Stevens knew
firsthand it was a good place to raise a
kid. But when they were contemplating
moving back, it was not a good time to
find a job in Humboldt County, especially
in chemistry. With a dream and visions
of empty cocktail shakers in his old neck
of the woods, he decided to found a
distillery, and the family moved back in
January 2012.
“This was a way for me to create my
own job,” he said. “It’s also a fun industry.
It gives me a chance to use my chemistry
background.”
Now he’s getting ready to sell his first
batch of vodka.

North Coast drinkers

have dozens of fine local libations to
choose from, ranging from hop-loaded
beers to piquant wines. But there’s been
a notable gap among bottled beverages
with the “made in Humboldt” stamp:
hard liquor.
Those of us who want a drink with a
bit more bite, who want to localize that
Sunday morning bloody mary – Woodley
Island iced tea, anyone? – have been bereft.
That is beginning to change, though,

FROM FARM TO GLASS. THIS SHINY CONTRAPTION DISTILLS ALCOHOL — ABOUT SIX
GALLONS A DAY BY ABE STEVENS’ ESTIMATE. HIS ORGANIC VODKA IS MADE FROM
EVAPORATED SUGAR CANE SYRUP AND MOLASSES. PHOTO BY GRANT SCOTT-GOFORTH

Tri-County Independent Living wishes
restaurateurs, “trying to convince them
with two craft distilleries perfecting their
that it’s worth it to carry a local brand.”
products and a third seeking a permit.
And good news for local sippers who
It seems likely that these are the first
associate “craft” with “costly” or “boulegal stills being started up in Humboldt
tique” with “bankruptcy” — he hopes to
County since Prohibition.
keep bottles around $20, give or take a
Our mini-boom comes amid a nationfew bucks.
wide surge in craft distilling.
“I’m trying to find a price that’s typical
Bill Owens — the gregarious founder
for Humboldt County,” he said.
and president of the American Distilling
With Stevens’ Humboldt Distillery well
Institute in Hayward, Calif. — said the
underway, Fred J. Moore III is working on
number of craft distillers has been rising
getting a second legal distillery off the
sharply, sometimes by as much as 30
ground, after getting a
percent a year. There are
permit in February.
around 500 now, Owens
“Abe Stevens — I
said, up from 65 when
think he kind of beat
he began the institute
us to the punch,” said
10 years ago.
Moore, owner of the
Portland, Ore. is
(slightly confusingly
home to “distiller’s row,”
titled) Humboldt Craft
an industrial district
Distillers, which is based
inhabited by boutique
in Eureka.
tasting rooms and
Moore is in the
manufacturers, which
early stages — he was
has resonated with
a bit surprised to get a
visitors and residents.
phone call about it —
Stevens used that as
but his motivations are
an example, as well as
not unlike Stevens’.
other distilleries in So— Bill Owens
He wants to “put
noma and Mendocino
Humboldt on the map”
counties, when pitching
for world-class liquor.
his business to Fortuna
“This artisan craft discity officials. He said he
tilled line is our passion,” he said.
received no negative feedback from the
The success of local brewers and
city or its residents.
vintners motivated Moore, a father of two
Richard Stenger at the Humboldt
teenage daughters and the chief financial
County Visitor’s Bureau said he can see
officer of Redwood Capital Bank.
the potential.
He touted the “grain to glass” ethos
“The more local things get, the more
of craft distillers, saying he will focus on
people like them,” he said. Just being
local products for his planned whiskey
open to the public makes for a tourist
and other spirits. For now, it’s too early to
destination. “People like to tangibly see
early to talk specifics. Jovially secretive,
where the things they eat or drink are
Moore declined to let the Journal see his
being made.”
distillery on Seventh Street in Eureka.
Owens said artisan distilling is a logical
After work and on weekends, he’s percontinuation of a broader trend.
fecting his recipes and planning to move
“Wine went through the renaissance.
into a larger facility.
Then it was beer that went through the
“I want to have a killer product before
renaissance. Then it was bread, coffee. Ten
we go live,” he said.
years ago no one would even dream of
Jeff St. John, the third hopeful spiritsdoing that. The same thing’s going to hapmaker, has secured a federal permit and is
pen with spirits.”
nearing state approval.
As consumer tastes become increasingly
St. John moved to Redwood Valley (off
refined, Owens speculated that California’s
Highway 299 between Arcata and Willow
alcohol laws may relax with an increasing
Creek) in 2005, seeking just the right clidesire for local, artisan beverages.
mate to grow pinot noir grapes, which he
“In New York you can sell your gin at
had grown for years near Santa Cruz. He
the local produce market on Saturday
got into grapes after more than 20 years
mornings,” he said. “I’d have shot of gin at
as a metallurgist in the airline industry.
eight in the morning; that wouldn’t hurt.”
Like Stevens, he has experience distilling
In Humboldt, Stevens is shooting for
things less palatable than spirits — zinc,
a May 1 release for his vodka, give or take
for example.
a few days. Once he’s got it in the bottle,
His Rocky’s Ridge Winery (it’s named
he’ll be hitting the pavement. He has a
local distributor and plans to visit local
continued on next page

“In New York
you can sell your
gin at the local
produce market
on Saturday
mornings.”

to express our appreciation to the sponsors,
donors, volunteers and participants in our
recent fundraiser, Humboldt Pie #6.
Thanks to all of you, we raised over
$8,000, our most succesful event so far!

continued from previous page
after for St. John’s horse) hasn’t sold
a bottle of wine yet, but a tasting
room (a collaboration with two other
wineries) is opening at Second and
F streets in Eureka in several weeks.
St. John plans to make port, which is
made by combining stronger alcohol
with wine. Rather than buy liquor,
he’ll make it out of his own grapes. He
plans to make cognac-like brandies
and whiskey but doesn’t expect those
for some time.
“The smallest time you can age a
whiskey and have it be decent is three
years,” he said.

Distilling is a relatively simple

process.
“It’s essentially taking a low-proof alcohol and making it high proof,” Stevens said.
Proof refers to the concentration of
alcohol. Pure alcohol — 100 percent — is
200 proof. Hard liquor — at least the stuff
we drink — is typically 80 to 100 proof
and comes from the same building blocks
as beer and wine.
Whiskey — made with corn, malts or
other grains — starts basically as beer,
minus the hops (West Coast beer drinkers may gasp collectively imagining such
a thing).
Stevens’ vodka and rum will both
be made from a fermented combina-

ABE STEVENS, OWNER OF HUMBOLDT DISTILLERY, HOLDS THE
BOTTLE FOR HIS ORGANIC VODKA. THE BOTTLES ARE LABELED,
FILLED AND CAPPED INDIVIDUALLY. PHOTO BY GRANT SCOTT-GOFORTH

tion of evaporated sugar cane juice and
molasses. Brandies will come from pears,
apples or berries.
“With fruit you mash ‘em up and
add yeast and you end up with wine,”
Stevens said.
Stevens’ still is reminiscent of another
age, a Jules Verne-ian bathysphere, a
tangle of tubs, gauges and knobs.
Alcohol has a lower boiling point
than water, Stevens explains, so when it’s
heated in the first drum of the still, the
alcohol vapors rise into the next chamber.
The hot alcohol gas moves through three
more chambers, where it is re-boiled and
further concentrated each time.
At the end of the line, cold water circu-

FOUR BEAMING MEN STAND AROUND A STILL IN THIS UNDATED PHOTO TAKEN SOMEWHERE
BETWEEN ARCATA AND KORBEL. PHOTO COURTESY THE PALMQUIST COLLECTION, HSU LIBRARY.

STEVENS SHOWS OFF THE NARROW TASTING COUNTER AT HIS FORTUNA DISTILLERY.
IT WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC IN ABOUT SIX WEEKS, WHEN HIS ORANGE BLOSSOM
VODKA AND RASPBERRY VODKA ARE FINISHED. PHOTO BY GRANT SCOTT-GOFORTH

lates around the boiled vapors, condensing the alcohol back into liquid. It dribbles
out of a small spout into a waiting 55-gallon drum.
The original beer- or wine-like slurry,
stripped of its sugar and intoxicating
powers, is disposed of. “It’s not a very
pleasant drink,” Stevens said, but it still
has nutritional value. When he’s up and
running, he’ll be looking for a farmer who
can use the liquid.
Stevens distills multiple runs over
multiple days to get a usable quantity

— he figures six gallons is a day’s work.
(For comparison, Jack Daniel’s sells more
than 10 million cases of whiskey — approximately 30 million gallons — per year,
according to a 2012 Daily Mail article.)
The alcohol comes out pure — 200
proof. “Everything comes out white and
clear from the still,” Stevens said. That
includes whiskeys, rums and other liquors
that are typically sepia-tone when sold.
It’s the aging process — often done in oak
barrels — that adds the dark-molasses to
sunny-golden hues.
Stevens adds water to bring his liquor

MORE MOONSHINERS, THIS TIME SOMEWHERE OUTDOORS. THEY BROUGHT THEIR STILL WITH
THEM. PHOTO COURTESY THE PALMQUIST COLLECTION, HSU LIBRARY.

Don’t forego service
for cost when you
can have both
THE HUMBOLDT DISTILLERY’S UNASSUMING STOREFRONT ON 10TH STREET IN FORTUNA. STEVENS’
VODKA WILL BE AVAILABLE AT RETAILERS SOON. PHOTO BY GRANT SCOTT-GOFORTH

down to the narrow range that’s allowed
by alcohol regulators. It has to be close to
what’s advertised on the bottle.
“It’s kind of an involved process,” he said.
Stevens is starting with a basic organic
vodka. Something simple to promote
at bars and get his brand going. He’s
working on an orange blossom vodka
and a raspberry vodka (the raspberry
vodka he let us taste was aggressively
fruity, but not overly sweet, without the
artificial-ness of some berry liquors). He’s
planning for more spirits — brandy and
spiced rum — later this year. That rum is
a nod to Humboldt Bay’s
notable nautical history,
Stevens said.

It’s pretty

clear
that Humboldt hasn’t had
an aboveboard distiller
since the mid-1800s —
maybe ever. County
planner Steven Lazar was
unaware of any distilleries
that his department had
subjected to land use
review. Local Department
of Alcoholic Beverage
Control investigator
Karen Locken, who fondly
calls Stevens “the Mad
Chemist,” hasn’t seen a
craft distiller in Humboldt
County in the 25 years
she’s familiar with.
Going further back in
time, the county’s boozy
history mixes politics,
melodrama, crime and
money. Some of it is
outlined in the Susie

Baker Fountain Papers — a collection of
historical clippings and notes compiled by
Humboldt State University’s first graduate.
They include a long record of boozing,
from saloons to breweries, but no registered spirits manufacturers.
Eureka Books co-owner Scott Brown
perused old Humboldt County directories and found no listed distillers.
Historian Ray Hillman likewise couldn’t
dig up anything.
“I don’t think there were ever any legal
distilleries up here,” Hillman said. “Grape
growing was not anything extensively
pursued at all. They brought in all kinds of
liquor by steamer from San Francisco —
and that would be kind of a hard market
to compete with. We had breweries but
not distilleries.”
Moonshine, Hillman said, was where
Humboldt County shone.
“Boy, there sure were a lot of illegal
stills all over the place in the 1920s,” he
said. “Even in what is now Sequoia Park.”
Humboldt County was so fond of
drink, local legend goes, that General and
President-to-be Ulysses S. Grant developed his particular fondness for whiskey
during his brief station at Fort Humboldt.
An 1892 tax collector’s report showed
178 saloons within the county borders.
Mostly concentrated in Eureka, the taverns boasted names such as The Eureka
Sample Room, the Empire Oyster Saloon,
The Cosmopolitan Club and the Fox’s Den,
and few familiar names like the Oberon
and Vance.
These taverns were popular and
successful, offering billiards, tobacco,
cabaret and other, less savory entertainment that the newspapers of the day
continued on next page

Watch for the all summer long
activities for kids in our
May 9, 2013 edition, or online at
www.northcoastjournal.com
northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

13

JBM
ARYN
Gift Concierge
Mom has always been
there for you…
Let me help make
this her
Best Mother’s
Day yet!

HUMBOLDT COUNTY BREWERIES HAVE
A LONG HISTORY, AS EVIDENCED IN
THESE UNDATED PHOTOS OF THE
HUMBOLDT BREWING BUILDING
AT THE FOOT OF HARRIS STREET IN
EUREKA. DISTILLERIES? NOT SO MUCH.

if you are running out of time, use mine
Jodie Marynowski
jbmaryn@gmail.com
707.502.6046
www.facebook.com/jbmaryn

PHOTOS COURTESY THE PALMQUIST COLLECTION,
HSU LIBRARY.

continued from previous page
were less likely to discuss. They caused a fair share of
problems, as Fountain’s crime clippings show. People
were accused of intoxicating marks to grease real estate negotiations and other nastiness.
After prohibition of alcohol passed by a constitutional amendment in 1920, Humboldt County, like most
communities, suffered the corruption and violence that
coincided with an exploding black market.
In One Eye Closed the Other Red: The California
Bootlegging Years, author Clifford James Walker characterized the North Coast booze trade as a rough-andtumble, fiercely independent market where just about everyone looked the other way when it came to a popular
illegal intoxicant (sound familiar?).
Timber loading sites on the rocky Northern California
coast doubled as ports for sea-borne alcohol shipments.
Gangs swiped whiskey on the long, unoccupied stretches
of the Redwood Highway between here and San Francisco.
Walker writes that the World Famous Tree House
near Piercy (which Highway 101 travelers will recognize)
was the first tree padlocked after moonshine was being
sold out of it.
Norman Steenfott — a Eureka resident — told Walker
he sold booze as a teenager during prohibition.
“I was driving taxi when I was 16 years old. Someone
would ask me to get a bottle, I’d go get one just like they’d
ask me to get a pound of hamburger in the butcher shop.
In those days it was semi legal anyway. … Everybody violated the law. People sat around and they knew the district

attorney and detectives were running their own stills or
they had someone running places for ‘em.”
Walker’s history names some complicit county officials, including Eureka attorney Stephen E. Metzler, who
— when the battle between the “Wets” and the “Drys”
was at a boiling point, and the current DA had a stillsmashing police squad — campaigned and won the top
lawyer spot on a platform of dissolving the “dry squad.”
“Soon, however, he directed the largest bootlegging
ring in the county right out of his district attorney’s office,” Walker writes. “After Metzler took over as D.A., it
seems as if Humboldt County went back to the good-ol’
boys style of law enforcement with the coastal towns
being wide open.”
By the time prohibition was repealed in 1933, smalltime distillers had largely disappeared and large manufacturers seized the market.
“Prior to prohibition, there were tons of micro-distilleries around the county,” Stevens said. “A lot of communities had distillers. Then prohibition came and wiped
them all out. It’s only in the past few years that distillers
started coming back.”

Local cocktail curator Amy Stewart — who
contributes to the Journal and is currently touring the
nation with her new book The Drunken Botanist — said
the booze movement couldn’t have come to Humboldt
County soon enough.
“I think it’s a shame that it hasn’t been done up until
now,” Stewart said, calling from North Carolina.
continued on page 16

continued from page 14
In a 2011 column, Stewart lamented the
lack of a local hard cider producer. She repeated that refrain last week, saying apple
brandy tops her local spirits wish list.
She’s in luck — both Stevens and
Moore name-dropped apples. Stevens is
planning on creating both pear and apple
varieties of eau de vie — a clear, unaged
brandy — in the fall.
Humboldt Distillery is certified organic.
And Stevens is committed to using local
ingredients whenever he can. St. John’s
wines and brandies will be Humboldt
County grown. Moore’s ethos echoes that
— “grain to glass,” he calls it. But that’s not
always easy.
“Sometimes it can be trade-off
between local and certified organic,”
Stevens said.
For all these new distillers, the science
is technical, the paperwork tedious — but
they’re also the only relatively sure things
in starting a distillery. The big unknown is
if the liquor will sell.

“That’s been the hardest thing to predict,” Stevens said.
Owens, the distilling institute founder,
said it is no small feat opening a successful distillery. He regularly fields calls from
budding drink-makers.
“There’s no university classes, there’s no
books. You’re out there on your own,” he
said. “Usually if someone calls me, I say,
‘If you get this up in two years, I’ll fly up
there and buy you dinner.’”
Cocktail maven Stewart said it all
comes down to the men and women
behind the bars.
“I hope local bars will embrace it
and pour it for people,” she said. Giving
people an opportunity to try a drink before committing to the price of a bottle is
important, and most people are in restaurants more often than in liquor stores.
The will exists — but will a trio of
sauce-minded still stars find a way to lift
Humboldt County’s spirits?
The proof will be in the drinking. ●

Comedy at Redwood Curtain,
plus a busy month of May
By William S. Kowinski
stagematters@northcoastjournal.com

H

ow could I write a play for my
fellow third graders to perform
when it would be nearly a decade before I actually saw a play,
live onstage? The short answer
is television, specifically situation comedies. It is even now the format that any
American audience is most likely to know,
including audiences for the comedy Skin
Deep, now on stage at Redwood Curtain
in Eureka.
Those audiences are greeted with Daniel C. Nyiri’s impressive set, which nevertheless looks familiar. It’s a down-market,
outer-borough New York apartment,
reproduced with the detail we expect in
a movie or TV show set. Some of those
details — like the box of Ritz crackers, the
Kix cereal on top of the fridge — suggest

that despite the vaguely contemporary
time in which the play takes place, this
is really the sitcom 1950s, but with cell
phones and collagen injections.
It’s the apartment of Maureen Mulligan
(played by Christina Jioras), a plus-size and
no longer young woman, who is getting
ready for a blind and possibly last chance
date with Joe Spinelli (Dmitry Tokarsky),
perennially unattached and also middle
aged. Maureen’s sister Sheila (Susan Abbey) is helping her prepare, with encouragement and makeup. Sheila was the
pretty one, though lately obsessed with
cosmetic surgery. She’s married to an upscale lawyer she’s worried is straying, the
handsome Squire Whiting (Brad Curtis).
While Brooklyn and Queens no doubt
maintain some old ethnic enclaves

(though I’d be surprised if there are many
Irish parents who still expect one of their
daughters to become a nun), this has
a very ‘50s sitcom feel: Irish and Italian
Catholics, plus a token WASP, as seen
through the comedic and highly verbal
prism of predominantly Jewish writers.
All the characters in Jon Lonoff’s script
for Skin Deep are witty, and the story is
sweet and slight, with a single psychological turn that Maureen eventually states directly, in case we missed it while laughing
at the jokes. This play really is skin deep.
But skin is important, too. It’s where
we first feel the world and where we get
burned. And there are worse ways to
spend an evening than watching a live
sitcom, especially with this ensemble
of actors. Not only are they individually
talented, able to create convincing characters and relationships that have nuances
that deepen the play, but they do so by
working so well and so truthfully together.
Credit for that must also extend to director Cassandra Hesseltine.
Christina Jioras is winning, Brad Curtis
brings out elements of his character that
might otherwise remain latent in the
script, Dmitry Tokarsky is solid and Susan
Abbey is funny without losing her character’s dignity and humanity. The New York
accents are pretty good, too.
There’s romance, misunderstanding and
a touch of farce in the second act, involving (as farce often does) closed doors
hiding someone who shouldn’t be there
or open doors creating a wrong impression. It’s uncynical, moderately fast paced
and not long. There’s a lot about food, so
expect to crave snacks afterwards.
Costumes are by Jenneveve Hood,
sound by Jon Turney, props by Laura
Rhinehart. Skin Deep continues weekends
at Redwood Curtain through May 18.

Also on stage

this coming
weekend: Proof, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
drama by David Auburn, is at the Gist Hall
Theatre on Thursday, May 2, through Sat-

urday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May
5, at 2 p.m. Produced by the HSU theatre
department and directed by Michael
Thomas, it features Dakota Dieter, James
Read, Kyle Handziak and Queena DeLany.
Lynnie Horrigan designed the set, Glen
Nagy the sound, James McHugh the lighting and Marissa Menezes the costumes and
makeup. It closes Sunday. More information: HSUStage.blogspot.com.
The 1960s musical Hello, Dolly! will be
performed at Ferndale Repertory Theatre at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and
2 p.m. Sundays through May 12. Directed
by Justin Takata, with musical direction
by Tina Toomata (you say Takata, I say
Toomata), choreography by Linda Maxwell
and scenic design by Liz Uhazy. it features
Rae Robison, Dave Fuller, Erik Standifird,
Molly Severdia, Dante Gelormino, Sasha
Shay, Lizzie Chapman and Brodie Storey
heading a large cast. www.ferndalerep.org.
At 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, May
2 and 3, the Arcata Playhouse hosts the
physical theatre duo Wonderheads Mask
Theater, performing an original piece,
Loon. Co-artistic directors Kate Braidwood and Andrew Phoenix are graduates
of the Dell’Arte International School, and
their signature is larger-than-life masks
and puppets billed as “live-action Pixar.”
Liz Nicholls in the Edmonton Journal described this show as “a simple, classic underdog story, the rediscovery of the sense
of possibility. And it’s told with beautiful
physicality.” arcataplayhouse.org.
Then the following weekends, the next
batch of Dell’Arte MFAs produce The
Mothership: Thesis Festival 2013, at 8
p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays, May
9 through May 18, in the Carlo Theatre.
Summit Fever follows three grotesque
clowns as they climb Mount Everest,
Because I Love You Most of All is a surreal
murder mystery and Room 111 answers the
question, “What do you get when you put
three outrageous characters in a cramped
motel room for eternity with a mysterious
potato?” www.dellarte.com. l

CAP’N ZACH’S
CRAB HOUSE

Corner of 14th & G Streets.
Near Wildberries and only two blocks
from HSU.
Tuesday - Sunday 11:30am to 8:45pm
Closed Monday

f flowers could throw punches or
blow kisses, Theresa Oats would be
right there to witness it with one of
her signature rose paintings. Need a
flower with a sweet disposition? Oats
has you covered. Want one that comes
with a sharp tongue? She’s painted that
too. You can see her roses — passionate,
pugnacious and plentiful — at her Images
from Life show at Sewell Gallery Fine Art
during Arts! Alive and through May 26.
“Roses are like little individuals,” Oats
says while we sip fragrant green tea at her
Loleta studio. As we talk, her language is
filled with light and color. Outside, the
wind howls, moving the walls in breathlike pulses. Birds trill in the trees, while
Henry the burro slowly nuzzles the grass
just below the studio deck.
Inside, the smell of oil paint and thinner, with a faint hint of diesel, hangs in
the air. Oats’ fervent flower portraits are
lined up on a narrow shelf like school
kids waiting for the bus. They are small,
but substantial. Their simple, matte-black
frames hug them close, giving each one a
little space to call its own.
Her descriptions of them are almost
parental. Pointing to one, Oats says it
is “excited about life,” while another is
“interested about the world.” This one is
“more introspective,” while that one has a
“hot personality.” Her hands fly around to
the sides and above her head as she talks

THERESA OATS IS KNOWN FOR HER PLEIN AIR PAINTING.

about the petals moving in the breeze.
“They almost look like jellyfish to me!”
Well-known for painting en plein air,
an approach that puts painters in direct
contact with nature, Oats has now brought
that dynamic to her flower portraits. After
spending so much time painting in her lush
garden, Oats says, she realized that the
longer she looked at the variety of blooms,
the more she noticed how each one had a
slightly different structure. Her new work
seeks to capture their “unique way of existing” by focusing on the flowers’ individuality, gesture or expression. More so than the
color, light and beauty (although these are
important), Oats is in search of the personality of a flower by spending time painting
each one.
Those familiar with Oats’ work will
notice that she has stripped away the surroundings and focused exclusively on the
flowers. She has eschewed her well-known
garden paintings and zeroed in on the
beings she likes most. While the garden
environment is still critical to her art, the
uniqueness of each bloom has come to
the fore in these new works. Oats has also
painted tulips, gladiola and daffodils for
the show, but her favorite flower portraits
are the roses.
Each stroke sculpts peaks and valleys
of petals, all coalescing around the heart
of the blossom. The images offer the effervescent, frothy and unpredictable sense

of time passing and working its magic on all
of us. Indeed, Oats mentions often that her
favorite moment to paint a flower comes
when it is “a tad past its prime.”
The contemplation and patience in her
work shows the hand of a mature painter
who has learned to look ever so closely
at every subtle transition of color, value
and light. These portraits, most measuring around 6 by 6 inches, contain only the
essence of a flower that has long since
passed on.
The paintings explode with color.
Expressionistic strokes send rusty pinks to
swoop past lemony yellows. Vivid oranges
plunge into pools of crimson and coffee.
At the tip of some petals, crisp sunlightwhites stand proud, radiant as royalty.
Farther in, dark umbers set off delicious
cotton-candy pinks.
Oats knows colors well. Posters from
paint companies adorn her studio walls,
describing every available hue. Paint tubes
litter horizontal surfaces. They aren’t just
thrown around though; there is a method
to the splatter of her crumpled, squeezed,
crusty and rolled-up collection of tubes —
each one plump with possibilities that only
a painter can see.
Her favorites are the cadmium reds,
yellows and oranges. Cadmium, a silvery,
bluish-gray metal, is a byproduct from the
processing of other metals like zinc and copper. Its vivacity helps give Oats’ blooms their

intensity and arresting vibrancy. To maintain
each color’s brilliance, she often paints
with them straight out of the tube. When
needed, she’ll cool a color down with light
yellow or heat it up with a bright orange.
Light seems to flow through her work
rather than reflect off of it. The brilliant
translucence of her surfaces suggests an
ability to see through the light to the very
core of the painting. Oats is extremely
sensitive to the shifting angles of light
as the sun crosses the sky. In fact, when
painting her flowers, she places them in
the ever-changing light of an east window
rather than the more static light of a
north window.
This atmospheric sensitivity comes
from decades of painting outside. Oats
is well-known for her trademark plein air
landscapes, and alongside her flowers the
Sewell will also be displaying a handful
of her most recent vistas. Her landscapes
hum with the fertile expectancy of
change, halting those perfect moments
so that we may linger on them before
they disappear forever. The expansive
views and dusky colors in these paintings
perfectly complement the intimate facets
of Oats’ flower portraits. As a whole, they
describe a painter who is not afraid to
take on nature, large or small. ●
Ken Weiderman is a potter and art
educator living in Eureka.

Imagine a “pop up” gallery,
an art exhibit that goes up
in one busy day, attracts
longing gazes during
Arts Alive!, and then is
dismantled that same night,
as buyers walk away with
freshly purchased artwork.
That’s the concept being
tested by a group of artists
and art gallery workers this
month with “I’M NOT BAD,
I’M JUST DRAWN THAT
WAY,” a tribute to villains
of all stripes, at the MALIA
MATSUMOTO POP UP
GALLERY at 511 F St. Among
the works being shown are
“Knock Knock,” a gouache by
Kristen Clohessy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT
JACKSON

MAIN STREET GALLERY & SCHOOL, 1006 Main St.
Art by Steve Greenwalt, Doug Lotz and Erick
Van Vleet.
MARIAN’S BEAUTY SALON, 741 11th St. New handmade jewelry art by Ashley Bones.
PRECISION INTERMEDIA, 1012 Main St. Works
Shelby’s Glass Studio from Redway.
RAIN ALL DAY BOOKS, 1136 Main St. Paula Redfeldt photographs and readings by the Rain All
Day writers.
STREHL’S FAMILY SHOES & REPAIR, 1155 Main St.
Photos by Nancy Gregory.
TRENDZ, 1021 Main St. Customized art on cell
phone cases by Robert Slater. ●

“SUNRISE ON MOUNT SHASTA” by John Crater is
among the prize-winning pieces in the REDWOOD
ART ASSOCIATION’s spring exhibition. “RUST II,” a
photograph by Sharon Falk-Carlsen, was also honored.
PHOTOS BY CARRIE PEYTON DAHLBERG

Garberville
Arts Alive,
Friday, 5-7 p.m.

Celebrating local art and music in Garberville and beyond.
CAFÉ MINOU, 436 Church St. Art by
Heather Parker and music by the FNR
band.
MATEEL ARTS CO-OP, 773 Redwood Drive.
Paintings by Mendocino artist Jessie
Clark, along with works by Mary Odisio
and many other local artists.
FLAVORS, 767 Redwood Drive. Paintings
by Jessie Clark.
GARDEN OF BEADIN’, 752 Redwood Drive.
Jewelry by Jennifer McCarthy.
THE STONERY, 923 Redwood Drive. Scroll
saw art woodworking by Bob Ewing.

he legendary Paul Taylor Dance
Company returns for its third
appearance at the Van Duzer Theater on Tuesday evening, May 7,
followed by a cavalcade of spring
concerts at local studios. Paul Taylor’s
exuberant style of movement has become
a staple of the modern dance idiom, influencing it for over 50 years. Building on
classical ballet and the modern vocabulary
of the mid-20th century, Taylor’s dancers
dig into the floor with juicy pliés, voluptuous attitudes and low runs with outstretched arms, alongside awkward jumps
and shapes that rebel against all that lusty
gracefulness.
Taylor broke out on his own in the
1950s while dancing for the greats of the
New York dance world, including Martha
Graham, Merce Cunningham and George
Balanchine. Now in his 80s, he is still
constantly choreographing new works. Of
the three dances on Tuesday’s program,
one premiered in 1986, the others in the
past two years. A Musical Offering is a
landmark dance much talked about in
its early days because of the strangeness

of choosing Bach for a ceremonial tribal
dance. Although inspired by primitive
sculptures from New Guinea, the sleek
movement is anything but primitive. The
choreography births a new tribe where
rituals of the ancients meet their contemporary counterparts.
The most intriguing piece on the
program, To Make Crops Grow, premiered
last year but tells the story of The Lottery,
a disturbing short story written by Shirley
Jackson in 1948. Costumed in Depressionera clothing, the work is a Dust Bowl rite
of spring. The female soloist is painfully
exquisite in agonized prayer before her assassins, wringing her hands, then her arms,
frantically twisting these limbs.
In Gossamer Gallants, the Taylor
ensemble enters the world of insects.
Imagine grown people dancing as insects
in fanciful costumes, not unlike the adult
magical creatures of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream. This dance was
made in 2011, over two decades after A
Musical Offering. It’s good to know that
Taylor can still get weird.
What’s it like for dancers to learn icon-

ic works of an earlier generation and then
work with Taylor on new pieces? Both are
exciting, but each is different, according
to George Smallwood, who first joined
the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 2011. It’s
“the difference between reliving a part of
[dance] history and knowing you may be
a part of making it,” Smallwood said over
the phone from Manhattan. “Dances from
the repertory … I approach them with
reverence for the people who did them
before. You have to find that passion for
yourself, to keep it fresh and keep trying
to discover what it can be for you.”
Paul Taylor Dance Company, Tuesday,
May 7, 8 p.m. Van Duzer Theater on the
HSU campus. Tickets at $45 general, $25
children and $15 HSU students are available at the University Ticket Office and at
humboldt.edu/centerarts.
Also coming up this spring are another
run of local performances, beginning with
North Coast Dance’s Dance … the Final
Frontier, on Friday, May 10. Look for the
Andromeda Galaxy, alien battles and, of
course, Princess Leias as kids and company members evoke outer space themes.
Five performances are planned at North
Coast Dance Studio, 426 F St., Eureka: at 7
p.m. on Friday, May 10, and at 1 p.m. and 4
p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 11 and
12. Tickets $10. One additional performance, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15,
will be held at the Arkley Center for the
Performing Arts, 412 G St., Eureka. Tickets
$15, children $12, are available at www.
arkleycenter.com or at 442-1956.
Global Bass, a world music dance night
with DJ Pressure Anya and belly dance
performances by Megz Madrone and
Marjhani, is also coming up on Saturday,
May 11, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at The Arcata
Theater Lounge, 1036 G St. Tickets for this
21-and-over evening are $10 in advance
and $15 at the door, available from The
Works, People’s Records and the box office, 822-1220.
The Upper Studio and Humboldt
Dance Alliance present the return of the
romantic comedy A Midsummer’s Night
Dream, directed by Heather Sorter. Sort-

er has restaged her full-length ballet with
guest artists Lela Annotto as Puck and
members of the renowned Robert Moses
Dance Company from San Francisco.
Friday, May 31, at 7 p.m. and Saturday,
June 1, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Eureka High
Auditorium, 1915 J St. Tickets $15, $10 for
children, are available at Berliner’s Cornucopia, Threadbare and Wildberries. More
information at 360-791-4817.
Trillium Dance Studios’ spring concert
theme, Arctic, invokes endless possibilities for dances inspired by the flora, fauna
and climate of that frigid region. Along
with showcasing her studio students,
director Erin McKeever will be presenting work by Trillium’s junior and senior
companies. Saturday, June 8, 6 p.m. and
Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m. at the Van Duzer
Theater on the HSU campus. For more
information call the studio at 822-8408.
Trinity Ballet Academy of McKinleyville presents Little Red Riding Hood
and Friends, an original ballet created
by director Greta Leverett, featuring
students aged 4 through adult, along with
Trinity Youth Ballet, the academy’s performing troupe. Saturday, June 8, at 3 p.m.
at the Arkley Center, 412 G St., Eureka.
Tickets available at 442-1956 and www.
arkleycenter.com.
No Limits Tap and Jazz Studio’s spring
recital, “The Dance of LIFE,” is planned
for Saturday, June 15, at 6 p.m. and Sunday,
June 16, at 2 p.m. at the Arkley Center, 412
G St., Eureka. Tickets $13, $9 children. For
information call the studio at 825-0922.
The Ferndale Dance Academy presents Starlight Serenade, another original
dance production written by the team
of Michael and Laura East, this one in the
Hollywood tradition of the unknown kid
who becomes a star. Prepare to be entertained because these kids and teens sure
can hoof it. Friday, June 21, and Saturday,
June 22, at 7 p.m. at the Arkley Center, 412
G St., Eureka. Tickets — $15, $12 children
4-12 and $8 children 3 and under — are
available at 442-1956 and www.arkleycenter.com. l

“Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit
inheritance of generations and nations.”
- Henry David Thoreau

Used Books

• New Books

Special orders welcome for new books!

402 2nd Street • Corner of 2nd & E • Old Town, Eureka • 445-1344

Those Two Guys
Captain Ahab’s Motorcycle Club
and That 1 Guy, Lixxapalooza,
Boris Garcia, Todd Snider and
collegiate music
By Bob Doran

bobdoran@northcoastjournal.com

I

f you’re familiar with Cory McAbee,
it’s probably because of The Billy
Nayer Show, a 20-year collaboration
between songwriter/autoharpist/
filmmaker McAbee and drummer
Bobby Lurie. By mutual agreement, Billy
is currently on hold; both musicians have
moved on to new adventures. For McAbee,
it’s a semi-solo project he calls Captain
Ahab’s Motorcycle Club. McAbee says the
name signals a juxtaposition of outsider
imagery with Ahab, a man “outside the law
— a total outsider, a Quaker with a heart
full of vengeance fighting God and nature.”
The “club” he explained, is “a global
collaborative, beginning with graphic
design — there are artists all over the
world doing chapter patches — that’s the
beginning. And I wrote a collection of
songs with simple tracks, mostly autoharp.”
The components are posted online for free
download and manipulation. “People are
able to do their own mixes or contribute
additional tracks,” he continued. “While I’m
on the road I perform to these mixes.”
The end goal is a feature film with the
working title, The Embalmer’s Tale, based
on the story of Abe Lincoln’s embalmer. He
secured funding from the Sundance New
Frontiers Story Lab for the film, which will

have its own songs and music, again opensourced and collaborative. “The music I’m
performing now is for the clubs and to get
people working together.”
You’re invited to join the club by coming to hear Captain Ahab’s Motorcycle Club
on a tour with That 1 Guy that hits Humboldt Brews Tuesday, May 7. That 1 Guy is
Mike Silverman, a one-man band based
around a mind-boggling instrument Silverman made himself called the Magic Pipe.
It’s somewhat akin to a stand-up bass, but
made with metal pipes and with sounds
run through intricate electronic effects.
The title of his spring tour, “An Evening
of Musical Magical Wonder the Likes of
Which Ye Haven’t Yet Seen,” pretty much
says it all. As McAbee explained, “It’s an
amazing piece,” incorporating video projections triggered by the Magic Pipe. This all
may sound strange, but trust me, this will
be a show you will not forget.
Looking for variety? That other campus
station, KRFH, presents its annual music
mini-fest, Lixxapalooza, on Friday in HSU’s
Kate Buchanan Room, showcasing a dozen
all-local bands, most of them unfamiliar
to me. It starts at 5 p.m. with Kyle followed (supposedly in this order) by G.G.,
La Musique Diabolique, Green & Lilac,

Buddy Reed, Table Salt, Spirit Makers, Am
I Wrong, Sleepin’ Jesus and The Dudes,
Diggin’ Dirt, Farmhouse Odyssey and
Liquid Kactus. If you want to come late
to support your friends, keep in mind that
until the last two, each act gets a half hour.
KRFH fave Farmhouse Odyssey goes on at
10 p.m. The funky Liquid Kactus, the station’s unofficial house band, starts at 11 p.m.
Tune in online at krfh.net — the whole
thing will be streamed live.
Friday’s “Finals Freakout” at the Arcata
Theatre Lounge is a triple bill with Lorenza
Simmons and Bianca Mankai from Vidagua, the awesome funk ‘n’ soul big band
Motherlode and Naïve Melodies, Humboldt’s premiere Talking Heads cover band.
Portland band of the week: Pierced
Arrows, playing Thursday at the Alibi with
local “mega pop” trio The Wild Lungs.
Pierced Arrows features the husband/
wife guitar/bass team Fred and Toody
Cole from the legendary PDX band Dead
Moon. It was an influential force in the
dark, punk/country alt. rock world from
1987 until 2006, when the band disbanded,
then reformed with new drummer Kelly
Halliburton and a new name.
Portland-based soul rock trio Otis Heat
plays at Blue Lake Casino Friday. The band’s
explanation of its name seems slightly
mythic. It traces the band history to a 2008
car crash and the rescue that followed,
undertaken by “an elusive drifter named
Otis Heat.” Supposedly, singer-bassist Sean
O’Neill ran into guitarist Mike Warner (or
vice versa) and they ended up in adjacent
hospital beds, discovered a mutual interest
in funky groove rock and formed a band,
naming it after their savior. True or not, it’s
a good story, and the band sounds pretty
good too.
Saturday, the Wave shifts into tribute
mode with Silver Hammer, my favorite
band in Saturday’s Rhody Parade, who
rocked The Point float with Fab Four tunes
circa 1964. (The band also draws on the rest
of the Beatles’ awesome songbook.)
And speaking of tributes, Mojo Child,
a Doors tribute out of Redding, lights
your fire Friday and Saturday at Cher-Ae
Heights.
Between the name and the fact that
I was introduced to the band by Dead
publicist/historian Dennis McNally, I assumed Boris Garcia was another Dead-ish
jamband. Jam is certainly an element, but
there are also shades of cosmic country/
Americana with some fine pedal steel, a
touch of jamgrass and some straight-ahead
guitar rock — and the songwriting’s good
too. Check the band out Thursday at Humboldt Brews after a set by local jamrockers
The Rezonators.
Thursday at the Logger Bar, Bayou Swamis guitarist Jeff Landen goes solo, shifting
toward the blues, especially when playing
his new (to him) Weissenborn lap guitar, a

slip slider’s dream.
We’ve delved into the history of Jerry
Joseph before: A one-time local, he relocated at least a couple of times, forming
Little Women and Jerry Joseph and The
Jackmormons along the way. He’s currently on tour with Jackmormon drummer
Steve Drizos and Walter Salas-Humara, a
founding member of New York indie band
The Silos, now working solo. Expect stellar
songwriting all around. Their tour brings
them to the Jambalaya Saturday.
Stoner folk singer/songwriter Todd
Snider plays Sunday (Cinco de Mayo) at
Humboldt Brews, joined by members of
Great American Taxi. The pairing should
come as no surprise to Snider fans since
GAT backed him on last year’s Time as We
Know It: The Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker,
Todd’s tribute to one of his music heroes.
That record came out at around the same
time as Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables,
a collection of Snider originals, so expect
a multi-faceted set list. Also on the tour,
Texas-born, Nashville-based fiddler/guitarist Amanda Shires.
Bassist Drew Mohr is one of those guys
who plays in so many bands, well, he loses
track of how many. His latest upcoming
gig report includes a return visit to the
Jambalaya by his latest, The Soulsapiens,
on Thursday, with the band’s inspiration,
Matt ‘n’ Adam, spinning old soul to open.
Friday, again at the Jam, it’s Zigzilla and The
Serial Thrillas, a hip hop thing with Zach
“Zigzilla” Lehner from Area Sound rapping
and Lauren Smith supplying more vocals
(Drew on bass). Sunday, Mad River Brewery
has a multi-band Cinco de Mayo show with
The Vanishing Pints incongruously playing
punky Irish tunes, a resurrected Papa Houli
and The Fleas bringing back that tropical
uke/ska/reggae/rock, and Drew playing in
the pan band Steel Standing.
Speaking of steel pan, the Humboldt
Calypso Band plays its year-end concert
Saturday night at the Van Duzer, part of
a showcase for the percussion portion
of HSU’s vibrant music department. Also
on the bill: the World Percussion Group
with traditional West African drumming
and Cuban folkloric music, and the HSU
Percussion Ensemble playing a dizzyingly
eclectic set including a piece by John Cage
and a Mr. Bungle cover.
If you’ve been following the CR brouhaha, you know that that school’s music
program is on the chopping block, in particular the performance portion. Is it worth
saving? See (and hear) for yourself Tuesday
when the College of the Redwoods Jazz
Orchestra plays big band swing tunes and
breaks up into smaller ensembles for cool
jazz for its end of term concert on Tuesday
at CR’s brand spanking new Performing Arts
Theater. Is music important? I think so.

Start your weekend off with a pint
and a dog from the Weenie Wagon
First Friday Folk Dancing Party
Zumba Toning (Bella) 5:30pm
Blues Night with Brian & Kimberli 8pm Lesson 7:30pm Live music 8:30pm $5
Accurate DJs: City Lights

Always great food — and the best cocktails.
The Alibi crew cares about you.
Please drink responsibly.
Restaurant open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

HSU Madrigal and MRTS 8pm FRH

744 9th St. on the Arcata Plaza 822-3731 www.thealibi.com

Paul Taylor Dance Company 8pm
Eons, It Was a Massacre, Disgyre 7pm

Deep Groove Society: Sundaze 9pm

Beat Connection and Odezza 9pm
Buddy Reed (blues) 7-9pm

REDWOOD ACRES

Sara Torres (songwriter) 5-7pm
Don’t think of it as work
Think of it as fun!
Cinco de Mayo potluck 5pm
Vanishing Pints (of Margaritas!) 7pm
Cinco de Mayo Party - Steel Standing
beergarita specials, pinata and more

California Native Plant Society’s SPRING
WILDFLOWER SHOW at the Manila Community
Center starts Friday with an art and music night
with an art workshop with Rick Tolley and
Québécois music by Mon Petit Chou. The flower
fest continues Saturday and Sunday with a native
plant sale plus talks on topics including “Fire and
Vegetation: the Yurok perspective” on Saturday,
and “How to Photograph Flowers” on Sunday.

The Eureka Chamber Music Series presents
Russia Meets America, a program of Russian
and American piano music performed by
Russian pianist DARIA RABOTKINA on Friday
at Calvary Lutheran Church in Eureka.

The Arcata Playhouse presents LOON, a
peculiar, whimsical tale of love, loneliness
and the moon performed by Wonderheads,
a Portland-based mask/puppetry troupe
formed by Dell’Arte graduates. The show runs
Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.
Northcoast Prep benefit with dinner and/or dancing to
The Delta Nationals. Advance reservations required for
dinner, $45; just the dance, $10. 445-2355. northcoastprep.org.

Hemp Roots: Standing Silent Nation. 6-9 p.m. Native Forum, BSS Building, HSU. Screening of film about
industrial hemp and the White Plume family who took
on the feds over destruction of their crop on the Oglala
Lakota reservation, also ice cream social with a hemp ice
cream maker. 499-8468.

Beauty can be found in any creative work
— whether the creator is a big bang, a hippie
dude in a dashiki and sandals, or someone
else entirely. This weekend, beauty is manifest
in a gospel choir. The sound of 80 voices
becoming one is like a sunrise at Moonstone
Beach or a school of dolphins playing in surf.
It’s magical, and it can make the hairs on your
arms stand up or tears spring to your eyes.
Blended voices resonate with some primordial
piece of DNA, causing you to get outta your
seat, stomp your feet or clap your hands.
Amen.
In Humboldt County, the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir has kept our ears tuned
toward glory for the past 20 years. On Saturday the choir will be performing at the Arkley
Center in Eureka with award-winning blues
singer Earl Thomas. Thomas will be bringing
his down-home Tennessee blues, R&B and
gospel sound to accentuate the choir’s already
massive voice.
The Rejoicing in Song concert will be
filmed and recorded to produce a CD and
DVD. There will be a reception with munchies
at 6 p.m. so your grumbling stomach doesn’t
interfere with the choir’s consecrated crooning. The performance starts at 7 p.m. on
Saturday, May 4, at the Arkley Center for
the Performing Arts. Tickets are $16.
— Travis Turner

auction. Public welcome. www.royalscotsmanauction.com.

15 th
An
niv
ers
ary

Praise Gospel

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northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, MAY. 2, 2013

31

continued from previous page
with buffet; $7 with coffee and tea only. Concludes with
installation of officers. 839-4672, 826-0834.
Tales of Adventure on Humboldt Bay. 1 p.m. Humboldt
County Library, 1313 Third St., Eureka. Humboldt County
Historical Society presents captain of the Madaket
Leroy Zerlang’s salty tales from 54 years as a Humboldt
Bay pilot.

Run for Your …
Running: it’s not just for survival, anymore. Some
people choose to push themselves to the absolute
limit of their strength and endurance. And, when it
comes to running without being chased, the Avenue
of the Giants Marathon on Sunday, May 5 is where
it’s at. “The Ave,” as the cool kids call it, is a full, 26mile, Boston qualifier in its 42nd year.
Plus, for the runners who want the experience
of a breathtaking run through the literally awesome
Humboldt Redwoods State Park, but are slightly
less keen about torturing their bodies, there is also
the 22nd annual half-marathon, and a 10K run. Slow
runners and walkers are also welcome, though there
is a 7-hour limit for walkers. But, really, who wants to
walk for more than 7 hours?
Perhaps you feel more comfortable watching
other people exert themselves to the point of apparent suffering? If so, you’re in luck: the marathon is
open to spectators!
The events kick off first thing in the morning on
Sunday, with the full marathon starting at 7:45 a.m.,
the half-marathon at 8:45 a.m. and the 10K at 9 a.m.
Race officials recommend participants arrive 1½ hours
before their start time, and spectators should arrive
by 7 a.m. to secure a good parking space. Onlookers
are welcome to view the race from anywhere on the
course, but let’s face it, once you’re done cheering the
runners on, the finish line is where the action is.
An award ceremony will be held following the
events, with special prizes going to male and female
runners in each age class. But hey, when it comes to
running a marathon, everyone is a winner, so all participants will receive medals for finishing. The Avenue
of the Giants is a long stretch of road, so be sure to
head over to www.theave.org for driving directions or
more information on race registration.
— Dev Richards

Hu Chant. Jefferson School, 1000 B St., Eureka. Looking
for inner peace? Hu is the ancient once secret name for
god, who helped people throughout time. Join the group
chant. 442-6526.

8 wednesday
FILM

The Power of Choice. 5-7 p.m. Garberville Civic Club,
477 Maple Lane. Six Rivers Planned Parenthood screens
Dorothy Fadiman’s film on the history of the struggle for
reproductive rights. Discussion follows.

SPOKEN WORD

It’s All In the Telling. 7 p.m. The Booklegger, 402 Second St.,
Eureka. An evening of story and song with two masters of
the art: writers Renee Gibbons and Jeff DeMark. Gibbons
will tell stories from her memoir Longing for Elsewhere:
My Irish Voyage through Hunger and High Times. DeMark
will perform his trademark monologues.

PAIN & GAIN. It’s all too easy to hate
on Michael Bay. I know because I used to
do it all the time. When Armageddon was
storming the box office I reacted like it was
a hate crime. For would-be cineastes his
name is low-hanging fruit, shorthand for everything that’s “wrong” with contemporary
cinema. I still think Armageddon (and Pearl
Harbor, and Transformers) has precious
little to offer, but my rancor is subsiding.
Bay movies are big, dumb, candy-colored pastiches of hyper-kinetic violence
and pseudo-sex — like music videos
stretched to feature length. What they lack
in nuance and characterization they try to
replace with crassly commercial exercises in
style. But with rare exceptions, his movies
become blockbuster hits because they can
be tremendously entertaining.
I tend to distrust people who don’t like
Bad Boys (1995) or The Rock (1996), which I
found memorably funny, action-packed and
unremittingly fun to watch. And that’s OK:
There’s no reason to feel guilty about the
art you enjoy. Sure, if you only like Michael
Bay movies you may want to branch out a
little. But just because he makes hits — and,
admittedly, seems like kind of a tool when
interviewed — it seems misguided to write
him off.
Pain & Gain contains many typical Bay
flourishes: mid-90s Miami Beach, musclebound schemers, exotic cars, scantily clad
ladies and disturbing violence depicted
with glibness. Based on a true story, it
centers on Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a
bodybuilder/trainer whose ambition and
mendacity clearly outstretch his intelligence. Fed up with being broke, he enlists
the aid of steroid-popper Adrian Doorbal
(Anthony Mackie) and a Bible-thumping,
newly sober ex-con named Paul Doyle
(Dwayne Johnson).
They devise a plan to abduct one of

Michael Bay,
Reconsidered

The explosion-loving musclehead
makes a personal movie, with
explosions and muscles
By John J. Bennett
filmland@northcoastjournal.com

Lugo’s wealthy, loathsome clients (Tony
Shalhoub) and force him to sign over his
assets. After some serious bumbling, the
dum-dums actually manage to capture their
mark. They hold him in a sex-toy warehouse, torture him and eventually succeed
in their plan. But the whole thing weighs
heavily on Doyle, who slips back into booze
and cocaine abuse, and the loose ends of
their plan start to unravel.
Up to this point, the movie is enjoyable as a straightforward dark comedy. But
there’s a turn, late in act two, that gives me
pause. It becomes clear, thanks in part to
Bay’s over-the-top reminder that “This is
still a true story,” that Lugo, et al., are not
only dumb and devious, but they’re so fixated on their new lifestyle that it borders
on psychopathic. Lugo’s insecurity and
arrogance are finally exposed, with deeply
troubling results. Unfortunately, Bay’s handling of the material doesn’t change to suit
its thematic darkening. As the world Lugo
has built starts to collapse around him, the
movie maintains a carefree, rollercoasterride tone. It’s an odd disconnect.
Pain & Gain still entertains, and it’s refreshing that Bay took on a true story with
an uncharacteristically “small” budget ($25
million, or about one-tenth of a Transformer). His visual style is out in full regalia.
The cast gives multi-layered, often hilarious
performances. Everything comes together
to produce a compelling popular entertainment. But it does leave lingering thoughts
about what might have been. What if Bay
had stepped out of his comfort zone even
more and let the movie go as dark as the
subject matter? Could he have pulled off
a real Miami gothic, a South Beach noir?
Does he have it in him? I suspect we’ll never
know; he’s off to make the next howevermany giant robot movies. But at least with
this we get all his titillating trademarks, plus
the suggestion of something more. R. 129m.
THE BIG WEDDING. To answer the
burning question: Yeah, this is as insultingly
pointless as the trailer would have you be-

lieve. And yes, I mean the trailer that’s been
pushed down our throats before every
major release of the last several months.
Perhaps most distressingly, this movie
would appear to be the result of one
man’s vision and not just the byproduct of
studio meddling. Justin Zackham made his
big break as the writer of The Bucket List
(2007). Now, in his first wide-release outing
as a director, he’s “adapted” a French movie
and tried to make an old-fashioned screwball wedding comedy.
The plot is predicated on grown-ups
committing to idiotic lies while their adult
children founder in the background. A rich
sculptor (Robert DeNiro) and his ex-wife
(Diane Keaton) pretend they’re still married
so their adopted son can avoid telling his
Catholic birth mother about the divorce.
And oh yeah, his fiancée’s parents are horrible bigots, and her father is being indicted
for stock fraud.
An awful lot of broad strokes, and
that’s only the bare bones of the narrative.
There’s a lot more in the background, but
the movie handles it even more cursorily
than I have here. Skip this one. R. 89m.
— John J. Bennett

Previews

IRON MAN 3. Make way! Here comes
summer blockbuster season! Robert
Downey Jr., that charming rogue, straps on
the armor for a third time to face supervillain The Mandarin, played by the not-at-all
Chinese Ben Kingsley. PG13. 130m.
MUD. I’m more excited about this one,
a moody crime thriller set on the banks
of the Mississippi from writer/director
Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter). Matthew McConaughey stars as Mud, a fugitive who
enlists two teenage boys to help him evade
bounty hunters and find his woman (Reese
Witherspoon). PG13. 130m.
This week’s Ocean Night, Thursday at
the Arcata Theatre Lounge, features Chasing Ice, an award-winning documentary
with stunning time-lapse footage of the
Arctic’s melting, crumbling glaciers. PG13.

MovieTimes

75m. Doors at 6:30 p.m. If you happened
to pick this paper up on Wednesday, May
1, you can catch Chasing Ice in HSU’s Kate
Buchanan room, with a talk on climate
change led by scientist Dominick DellaSala.
Reception at 4:30 p.m.; film at 5:30 p.m. On
Sunday the ATL has Pixar’s second feature,
A Bug’s Life (1998). G. 95m. 6 p.m. And next
Wednesday’s Sci-Fi Pint and Pizza Night will
be stormed by King Dinosaur (1955). Quoth
the ATL’s website: “Finding nice things to
say about King Dinosaur is about as easy as
swallowing lighter fluid.” Sounds fun! 6 p.m.

Broadway Cinema

Continuing

Iron Man 3

42. This Hollywood biopic about baseball color-barrier-breaker Jackie Robinson is
so glossy it all but glosses over the issue of
racism. PG13. 128m.
THE CROODS. A prehistoric family
must look for a new cave in this likeable
animated comedy featuring the voices of
Nic Cage and Emma Stone. PG. 96m.
EVIL DEAD. This gory remake of the
1980s camp-horror classic about a group of
young’uns, a cabin in the woods and a skinbound book has less camp, more viscera.
R. 91m.
G.I. JOE: RETALIATION. Bruce Willis,
“The Rock” and Channing Tatum play guys
with big muscles and guns. They shoot
stuff. PG13. 99m.
JURASSIC PARK 3D. That 3D T-Rex made
me spill my Diet Coke! PG13. 127m.
OBLIVION. Tom Cruise! Sci-fi! Mediocre! PG13. 126m.
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN. Gerard Butler
protects the president from evil Koreans.
Yawn. R. 100m.
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL. James
Franco stars as the young wizard-to-be. PG.
130m.
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES. Derek
Cianfrance’s multi-generational saga examines crime, fatherhood and personal responsibility. With Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes
and Bradley Cooper. R. 140m.
SCARY MOVIE 5. What’s scary is how
many people pay money — genuine U.S.
currency! — to watch this stuff. PG13. 85m.
— Ryan Burns
l

Early in Alison Klayman’s documentary on
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, he is asked
to describe himself as an artist. “I consider myself
more of a chess player,” he replies. “My opponent
makes a move; I make a move.” As the fascinating and moving documentary unfolds, the viewer
realizes that Ai Weiwei is involved in numerous,
complex “chess games” simultaneously, often using
an opponent as a muse.
Ai Weiwei, like Warhol before him, creates art
pieces and installations with multiple meanings,
illustrated in multiple mediums. He is an active
publisher of international artistic and cultural
magazines and books, a staunch advocate of human rights for the people of China, and a constant
provocateur. He spent nearly a decade abroad,
mostly in New York City’s Lower East Side during
a thriving DIY gallery scene in the mid-1980s and
early 1990s. As a young artist he filtered many
influences: the multifaceted execution of Picasso,
the irreverence of the French surrealists (especially
Duchamp), the collective ethic of Warhol and the
intricate layers of Chuck Close’s mammoth work.
Klayman initially interviewed him for a video
short to accompany a 2008 exhibition of his photographs in the United States. The documentary
evolved from there, and she was allowed a unique
entryway into a key period of Ai Weiwei’s life. Her
directing is uncluttered yet intimate, providing a
portrait of a complex artist and the way his artistic
and personal lives constantly intertwine.
After the tragic 2008 earthquake in the
Sichuan province, in which 70,000 lives were lost,
including thousands of children attending school,
Ai Weiwei posted a stream of blogs, holding the
government responsible for faulty construction
and architecture. He organized and mobilized
volunteers to retrieve victims’ names and remembrances from surviving family members. Each
name was printed on his art studio wall. From this
data and work, Ai Weiwei created Remembering,
an art installation exhibit that opened in Munich,
Germany, in 2009, including Haus der Kunst’s
exterior wall. The bricks are covered in 9,000 bright
backpacks, with the Chinese letters spelling out a
remembrance from one victim’s mother, “She lived
happily on this earth for seven years.”
Never Sorry provides a glimpse of a fascinating work- and life-in-progress, a portrait of one
of today’s most important living artists. Perhaps
what makes Ai Weiwei most engaging as an artist is
that his art both draws attention to the individual
and contributes to a larger whole, one driven by
a broader social view. His art forces many of his
Western contemporaries to reassess what their
motives truly are.
— Mark Shikuma

List your class – just
$4 per line, per issue!
Deadline: Friday, 5pm.
Place online at
www.northcoastjournal.com
or e-mail:
classified@northcoastjournal.com.
Listings must be paid in advance by
check, cash or Visa/MasterCard.
Many classes require pre-registration.

Arts & Crafts

ACRYLIC PAINTING ON CANVAS. With Jeff Stanley.
497-8003. (AC-0516)

Communication

MANAGING NON-STOP CHANGE. A team-building
management workshop with Janet Ruprecht. Learn
to recognize the phases of an individual’s natural response to change, and how to coach people through
them swiftly and effectively. Understand organizational resistance to change and discover what you
can do about it. Fri., May 10, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $95
(includes materials). Pre-registration required. Call
HSU College of eLearning & Extended Education
to register, 826-3731 or visit www.humboldt.edu/
extended (CMM-0502)
RACISM. The issue of racism will be explored at
LifetreeCafe this week, Sun., May 5, 7 p.m. 76 13th
St., Arcata. 672-2919, www.campbellcreek.org for
more info. (CMM-0502)

PARENTS NIGHT OUT. Enjoy a night to yourself
knowing that your child is in the care of the professional recreation team at the Ryan Center 5/4, 6-9
p.m. Extended care available until 10:30 p.m. $20 first
child, $15/additional family member, $10/child for
extended care. Kids enjoy fun games, activities & a
pizza dinner. Space is limited. Sign-up at the Adorni
Center. Call 441-4240 for more info. (K-0502)
PAGEANT ON THE PLAZA. This summer the Arcata
Playhouse is offering a two-week adventure in the
creation of outdoor spectacle and performance.
Week one includes classes in Movement, Music,
Stilts, Puppetry. Week two create a show! July 8-20,
9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Ages 9 - 16, $300 Call 822-1575 to
register today! (K-0627)

Over 50

FREE DEPRESSION SUPPORT GROUP. Walk-in support group for anyone suffering from depression.
Meet Mon.s 6:30 p.m -7:45 p.m, at the Church of the
Joyful Healer, McKinleyville. Questions? Call (707)
839-5691. (T-1226)

SHIPWRECKS & LIGHTHOUSES OF THE HUMBOLDT
COAST. Hear a lecture illustrated with historical
photos and artifacts on shipwrecks and lighthouses,
and then enjoy an all-day tour of the lighthouse on
Trinidad Head, the ruins of the Humboldt Harbor
lighthouse and more. With Ray Hillman. Fri., May 24,
5:30-8:30 p.m. and Sat., May 25, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
$50/OLLI members, $75/nonmembers. OLLI: 8265880, www.humboldt.edu/olli (O-0516)

HU CHANT. Are you looking for inner peace in
today’s fast-pace world? HU, an ancient and once
secret name for Gog, has helped people from all
backgrounds throughout time. Tuesday May 7, 7-7:30
p.m, Jefferson School, 1000 B St., Eureka. Public
invited (S-0502)

MOTHER’S DAY RETREAT. At Om Shala Yoga. With
Jodie DiMinno. Sat., May 11, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Nourish
yourself with an afternoon of gentle yoga, massage,
sauna & deep relaxation. Lunch included. You don’t
have to be a mother to participate. $40. Pre-register
by 5/9. 20% discount for groups of 5 or more. 858
10th St., Arcata. 825-YOGA (9642), www.omshalayoga.
com (W-0502)
BIRTHING FROM WITHIN CHILDBIRTH PREPARATION. How will you cope with the intensity and
unknowns of birth? How will your partner be able
to support you? In our unique classes, you and your
partner will experience multi-sensory processes and
learn proven pain-coping techniques to find your
own answers to these questions and more. Start May
9, taught by Tina George, CMT, Doula and BFW Mentor. Call 498-5952 to reserve your place. (W-0502)
START YOUR CAREER IN MASSAGE THERAPY!
Daytime classes begin June, 2013 at Arcata School of
Massage. 650-Hour Therapeutic Massage Certification will prepare you for Professional Certification
in California, and the National Exam. Our comprehensive program prepares your body, mind and
heart to become a caring, confident professional
massage therapist. Call 822-5223 for information or
visit arcatamassage.com (W-1226) ●

SUBMIT YOUR
WORKSHOPS
& CLASSES

ONLINE

northcoastjournal.com

Advanced Nuno Felting
May 25, 9am to 4pm
Learn advanced applications of Nuno Felting including:
how to use cotton and other fabrics as well as prints,
employ fibers such as soy silk, bamboo, tencel, mohair,
alpaca, and angora, design on both sides of the scarf,
add a ruffle, use silk hankies, add fringes, employ
3-D designs, resists and patchwork. This is a 6-hour
workshop with a 1-hour break for lunch. Participants
must have taken Intro to Nuno Felting class. Instructor
Carin Engen. Cost: 85.00 plus materials

Date of Filing Application:
April 17, 2013
To Whom It May Concern:
The Name of the Applicant is:
HUMBOLDT BAY TOURISM CENTER
The applicants listed above are
applying to the Department of
Alcoholic Beverages Control to sell
alcoholic beverages at:
205 G ST
EUREKA, CA 95501-0419
Type of License Applied for:
42 - On-Sale Beer And Wine Public Premises

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00247

The following person is doing
business as FLYIN’ LYNX DISC GOLF/
KB’S DISC WAGON at 791 8th St.,
Suite 11, Arcata, CA 95521.
Caleb M. Gribi
2547 Alliance Rd.
Arcata, CA 95521
The business is conducted by An
Individual.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious
business name listed above on n/a.
/s Caleb M. Gribi.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 18, 2013.
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk

The following persons are doing
business as CUTTEN MINI STORAGE
at 2341 Fern Street, Eureka, CA 95503,
4060 Campton Rd., Eureka, CA 95503.
Cutten Mini Storage, LLC.
4060 Campton Rd.
Eureka, CA 95503
The business is conducted by A
Limited Liability Company.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious
business name listed above on n/a.
/s Thomas E. Sutton, Manager.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 8, 2013.
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk

4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2013 (13-124)

4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2013 (13-115)

4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2013 (13-122)

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CLAIM EXCESS PROCEEDS
FROM THE SALE OF TAX-DEFAULTED PROPERTY

Made pursuant to Section 4676, Revenue and Taxation Code
Excess proceeds have resulted from the sale of tax-defaulted property
on February 23-26, 2013, listed below. Parties of interest, as defined by
California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 4675, are entitled to claim
the excess proceeds.
All claims must be in writing and must contain sufficient information and proof to establish a claimant’s right to all or any part of the
excess proceeds. Claims filed with the county more than one year after
recordation of the tax collector’s deed to the purchaser on March 26th
or 28th, 2013, ( depending on date of recording), cannot be considered.
Assessor’s
Assessment No.

Claim forms and information regarding filing procedures may be obtained
at the Humboldt County Tax Collector’s Office, 825 5th Street, Room 125,
Eureka, CA 95501 or by calling (707) 476-2450 or toll free (877) 448-6829
between 8:30 am-Noon and 1:00pm-5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
I certify or (declare), under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true
and correct.
_________________________________
John Bartholomew
Humboldt County Tax Collector
Executed at Eureka, Humboldt County, California, on April 26, 2013. Published
in the North Coast Journal on May 2nd, May 9th, and May 16th, 2013.
5/2, 5/9, 5/16 (13-132)

The following persons are doing
business as REDWOOD APARTMENTS at 2341 Fern Street, Eureka,
CA 95503, 4060 Campton Rd., Eureka,
CA 95503.
Redwood Apartments, LLC.
4060 Campton Rd.
Eureka, CA 95503
The business is conducted by A
Limited Liability Company.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious
business name listed above on n/a.
/s Thomas E. Sutton, Manager.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County on
April 8, 2013.
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk
4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2013 (13-116)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00222

The following persons are doing
business as BRICK & FIRE at 1630 F
Street, Eureka, CA 95501.
KGJ Partnership LLC.
1630 F St.
Eureka, CA 95501
The business is conducted by A
Limited Liability Company.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious business name listed above
on 4/1/2013.
/s D. James Hughes, Member.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 9, 2013.
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk
4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9/2013 (13-117)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00205

The following persons are doing
business as WOODFOOT SURFCRAFT
at 3144 C St., Eureka, CA 95503.
Lucas David Davisthornton
3144 C St.
Eureka, CA 95503
Gretchen Arina Anderson
3144 C St.
Eureka, CA 95503
The business is conducted by A
Married Couple.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the ficti-

tious business name listed above
on 5/1/2012.
/s Gretchen Arina Anderson.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 2, 2013.
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk
4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2/2013 (13-107)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00207

The following person is doing
business as BLACK LIGHTNING MOTORCYCLE CAFE at 440 F St., Eureka,
CA 95501.
Jeffrey S. Hesseltine
420 Tanglewood Rd.
Arcata, CA 95521
The business is conducted by An
Individual.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious business name listed above
on 7/1/2013.
/s Jeffrey S. Hesseltine.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 2, 2013.
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk
4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2/2013 (13-109)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00241

The following persons are doing
business as ST. JOSEPH HEALTH at
3345 Michelson Drive, Suite 100, Irvine
CA. 92612-0693.
St. Joseph Health System
3345 Michelson Drive, Suite 100
Irvine, CA. 92612-0693
The business is conducted by A
Corporation.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious business name listed above
on 5/9/2012
/s/ Shannon Dwyer, Secretary
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 17, 2013
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk
5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2013 (13-127)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00248

The following person is doing
Business as O B D PLUMBING at 2019
Campton Rd., Eureka, CA. 95503.
Darrell Burden
2019 Campton Rd.
Eureka, CA. 95503
The business is conducted by An
Individual.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious business name listed above on
5/3/2003
/s/ Darrell Burden.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 19, 2013
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk
5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2013 (13-128)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00215

The following person is doing
Business as PATKI ENTERPRISES at

5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2013 (13-130)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-00257

The following person is doing
Business as IMAGINE MORE! at 2904
California St., Eureka, CA. 95501.
Yvonne Becker
2904 California St.
Eureka, CA. 95501
The business is conducted by An
Individual.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious
business name listed above on 1993
/s/ Yvonne Becker
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 24, 2013
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk
5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2013 (13-131)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT 13-000262

The following person is doing
Business as BOO BAH BLUE at 3565
J St., Eureka, CA. 95503.
Renee Hanks
3565 J St.
Eureka, CA. 95503
The business is conducted by An
Individual.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious
business name listed above on n/a
/s/ Renee Hanks, Owner.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County

Date of Filing Application:
April 16, 2013
To Whom It May Concern:
The Name of the Applicant is:
ALBERT EDWARD CURTIS
The applicant listed above is
applying to the Department of
Alcoholic Beverages Control to
sell alcoholic beverages at:
120759 US HIGHWAY 101
ORICK, CA 95555
Type of License Applied for:
41-On-Sale Beer and WineEating Place

5/2, 5/9, 5/16/2013 (13-125)

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
FOR CHANGE OF NAME
CASE NO. CV130220
SUPERIOR COURT
OF CALIFORNIA,
COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT
825 FIFTH STREET
EUREKA, CA 95501

PETITION OF:
JESSE DOTY
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:
Petitioner: JESSE DOTY for a decree
changing names as follows:
Present name
JESSE DOTY
to Proposed Name
JESSE JAMES DOTY
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons
interested in this matter appear before
this court at the hearing indicated below
to show cause, if any, why the petition for
change of name should not be granted.
Any person objecting to the name
changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons
for the objection at least two court days
before the matter is scheduled to be
heard and must appear at the hearing
to show cause why the petition should
not be granted. If no written objection
is timely filed, the court may grant the
petition without a hearing.
NOTICE OF HEARING
Date: May 16, 2013.
Time: 1:45 p.m.
The address of the court is:
Same as noted above, Dept. 8
Date: April 4, 2013
Filed: April 4, 2013
/s/ W. BRUCE WATSON
Judge of the Superior Court
4/11, 4/18, 4/25, 5/2/2013 (13-113)

To: VICTOR H. VALDEZ
A hearing on this Request for
Order will be held as follows: if child
custody or visitation is an issue in this
proceeding, Family Code section 3170
requires mediation before or at the
same time as the hearing.
Date: June 25, 2013 at 8:30 AM in
Dept. 6., Superior Court of California,
County of Humboldt, 825 Fifth Street,
Eureka, CA 95501.
Date: January 16, 2013.
s/: LAURENCE S. ROSS.
COURT ORDER
YOU ARE ORDERED TO APPEAR IN
COURT JUNE 25, 2013, 8:30 AM, DEPT.
6, TO GIVE ANY LEGAL REASON WHY
THE ORDERS REQUESTED SHOULD
NOT BE GRANTED.
Any responsive declaration must
be served on or before: June 14, 2013.
Termination of Fathers Parental
Rights could be filed in conjunction
of step parent adoption to be heard
on same date.
Date: April 15, 2013.
s/: JOYCE D. HINRICHS, JUDICIAL
OFFICER.
To the person who received this
Request for Order: If you wish to respond to this Request for Order, you
must file a Responsive Declaration to
Request for Order (form FL-320) and
serve a copy on the other parties at
least nine court days before the hearing date unless the court has ordered
a shorter period of time. You do not
have to pay a filing fee to file the
Responsive Declaration to Request
for Order (form FL-320) or any other
declaration including an Income and
Expense Declaration (form FL-150)
or Financial Statement (Simplified)
(Form FL-155).
REQUEST FOR ORDER AND
SUPPORTING DECLARATION
Petitioner Tania Valdez requests
the following orders:
CHILD CUSTODY
(a) Child’s name and age: Runa Loz
Valdez (15)
(b) Legal custody to Tania Valdez
(c) Physical custody to Tania Valdez
CHILD VISITATION
(PARENTING TIME)
(a) As requested in Other: No visitation to Father if his parental rights are
not terminated.
(b) Modify existing order filed on
September 27, 2001 (Case # FL010572)
ordering: Visitation to Father Monday
to Friday 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

LEGAL NOTICES ➤
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

www.northcoastjournal.com

Did you know that the North Coast Journal’s
website includes governmental public notices?
Find out when there are Humboldt County public hearings

began and ended
47. Often-consulted church figure
48. One of Santa’s reindeer
49. Egg-shaped
50. Manuel’s milk
51. Suffix with access
54. ____-B
55. Past curfew
56. Not natural, in a way
58. Turned chicken
59. Miner’s pay dirt
61. 2012 Word of the Year chosen
by the Oxford American
Dictionary for being a “medium
of pop-cultural memes”

The following persons are doing Business as LOST COAST MOTORSPORTS
at 4665 West End Rd. Arcata, CA. 95521
Andrew Duncan
4803 Wells Dr.
Eureka, CA. 95503
Scott Homer
950 Courtyard Circle
Arcata, CA. 95521
The business is conducted by A
General Partnership.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious business name listed above
on 4/1/2013
/s/ Andrew Duncan
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 23, 2013.
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk

REQUEST FOR ORDER
CHILD CUSTODY,
MODIFICATION, VISITATION
AND OTHER
CASE NUMBER FL010692

Solution, tips and computer program at

5/2, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23/2013 (13-129)

on April 26, 2013
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk

CROSSWORD By David Levinson Wilk

4683 McKinnon Ct., Arcata, CA. 95521.
Jacquelyn Dyer
4683 McKinnon Ct.
Arcata, CA. 95521
The business is conducted by An
Individual.
The registrant commenced to
transact business under the fictitious business name listed above
on 4/5/2013
/s/ Jacquelyn Dyer, Owner.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Humboldt County
on April 5, 2013
CAROLYN CRNICH
Humboldt County Clerk

northcoastjournal.com • NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

37

Field notes

legal notices
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE.

MODEL OF A MINGDYNASTY CHINESE
“TREASURE SHIP” DWARFS
A MODEL OF ONE OF
COLUMBUS’ SHIPS IN
A DISPLAY IN THE IBN
BATTUTA MALL, DUBAI.
PHOTO BY LARS PLOUGMANN,
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE

The United States of Zheng?
By Barry Evans

fieldnotes@northcoastjournal.com

O

ur country’s name comes from
Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian
explorer who first challenged
Columbus’ assertion that Brazil
and the West Indies were part of
Asia. But how close did we come to be living instead in the United States of Zheng?
Really close, according to ex-British Royal
Navy Officer Gavin Menzies, author of the
2003 bestseller 1421: The Year China Discovered America. As we’ll see, however,
he’s in a minority.
Menzies’ assertion is based on the
voyages of the legendary Chinese eunuchadmiral Zheng He (1371-1433), who made
seven long voyages between 1405 and 1433,
commanding huge fleets that included
the largest wooden ships of all time. His
first voyage, 1405-1407, was from China to
the southwest coast of India, via presentday Vietnam, Java, Sumatra and Sri Lanka.
Subsequently, he sailed as far as Aden (in
Yemen) and down the east coast of Africa
to Mombasa (Kenya).
These were not voyages of discovery,
since they all followed long-established
and well-mapped trade routes. Rather,
they were designed to “show the flag” and
impress on foreign rulers the symbolic
authority of the Chinese Ming emperor. I’ll
bet they did, too. No other country in the
world could field such an imposing fleet as
Zheng He’s, with his four-deck, nine-masted so-called “treasure ships,” each the size
of a football field, together with a small
armada of support vessels and combined
crews totaling over 25,000 men.
The voyages abruptly stopped after
the death of the 62-year-old Zheng He in
1433, as he was homeward-bound from his
seventh expedition. Probably a combination of court intrigues and financial
constraints was to blame. Zheng He had
been part of an influential eunuch faction
in the emperor’s court, opposed by the
more conservative Confucian bureaucrats.

With Zheng He dead and costly Mongol
raids increasingly threatening the northern
frontier, Chinese emphasis shifted to land,
and most of Zheng He’s records were soon
destroyed by xenophobic scholars.
But ah, the what-ifs of history. If Lee
Harvey Oswald had missed, would Kennedy have pulled out of Vietnam before
the war escalated? If an unusually fierce
storm hadn’t wrecked 60 ships of the
Spanish Armada in 1588, would Spain have
dominated all Europe? And if Zheng He
had sailed east across the Pacific, would
you be reading this column in Chinese
logograms (all 7,000 of them)?
That’s where Gavin Menzies comes
in. In his re-writing of history, Zheng
He’s fleet not only “discovered” what we
call America, but it circumnavigated the
globe, one-upping Columbus, Vespucci,
Magellan and all those European Johnnycome-latelys. In 550 pages, Menzies cites
a host of dubious sources, including, for
instance a pre-Columbian Chinese map
showing Australia (“unfortunately … lost”)
and Chinese anchors found off the coast
of California (absent documentation). He
contradicts himself (claiming, for example,
that 15th century sea levels were both
higher and lower than now) and does
pretty much everything to raise the hackles of professional historians (his forte).
As far as I know, no reputable researcher has signed on to Menzies’ theories. Still,
he has sold a million copies of 1421 (three
of which are in the Humboldt County
Library), and his latest book — on Atlantis
(of course!) isn’t doing badly either.
Me, I’ll stick to evidence-based history.
Unless, of course, one of those six-figure
advances comes my way … l
Barry Evans’ (barryevans9@yahoo.com)
upcoming bestseller will prove that Zheng
He was actually a castaway Welsh
coal-miner from the Rhondda Valley.

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of:
NORMAN DELBERT MUDIE, NORMAN
D. MUDIE, NORMAN MUDIE
A PETITION FOR PROBATE has
been filed by LINDA RAE WILBOURN
in the Superior Court of California, County of Humboldt.
THE PETITION FOR PROBATE
requests LINDA RAE WILBOURN be
appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the
decedent.
THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be
admitted to probate. The will and
codicils are available for examination
in the file kept by the court.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under
the Independent Administration of
Estates Act. (This authority will allow
the personal representative to take
many actions without obtaining court
approval. Before taking certain very
important actions, however, the personal representative will be required
to give notice to interested persons
unless they have waived notice or
consented to the proposed action.)
The independent administration
authority will be granted unless an
interested person files an objection
to the petition and shows good cause
why the court should not grant the
authority.
A HEARING on the petition will
be held on May 9, 2013, at 2:00 p.m.
at the Superior Court of California,
County of Humboldt, 825 Fifth Street,
Eureka, in Dept. 08.
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of
the petition, you should appear at the
hearing and state your objections or
file written objections with the court
before the hearing. Your appearance
may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a
contingent creditor of the deceased,
you must file your claim with the
court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by
the court within the later of either
(1) four months from the date of
first issuance of letters to a general
personal representative, as defined
in section 58 (b) of the California

Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the
date of mailing or personal delivery
to you of the notice under section
9052 of the California Probate Code.
Other California statutes and legal
authority may affect your rights as
a creditor. You may want to consult
with an attorney knowledgeable in
California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept
by the court. If you are a person
interested in the estate, you may file
with the court a Request for Special
Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of
an inventory and appraisal of estate
assets or of any petition or account
as provided in Probate Code section
1250. A Request for Special Notice
form is available from the court clerk.
ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER:
WILLIAM T. KAY, JR. SBN 59581
LAW OFFICE OF WILL KAY
628 H STREET
EUREKA, CA. 95501
(707) 445-2301
APRIL 12, 2013
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT
4/18, 4/25, 5/2/2013 (13-120)

Y

our fictitious business
name statement will expire

five years from the date it was
last filed with the County Clerk.
You have 40 days from the
expiration date to renew your
FBNS with the County. A new
statement does not need to be
published unless there has been
a change in the information required in the expired statement.
If any changes occur then you
must file a new FBNS and have
published again.
Within 30 days from the stamped
refiling date, you must begin
publishing the statement in the
newspaper. If you publish it in
the North Coast Journal for the
required four weeks, on the last
day of publication a “proof of
publication” will be sent to the
County Clerk to complete the
filing process.
The cost for running your
ficticious business name in the

I - $36,154.56 - $43,946.09
II - $39,748.80 - $48,314.91
Final Filing: 5:00 p.m., May 10, 2013. Do you
have experience with a variety of real estate,
loan/banking, and/or title processing activities?
Interested in being part of a team serving our
community’s housing, community, and economic
development needs? We’re looking for you!
Performs variety of professional and technical
activities, including design, implementation,
management of development programs and
projects; loan programs; grant management; and
property management.
Application materials available at City of Arcata,
City Manager’s Office, 736 F Street, Arcata, CA
95521; by calling (707) 822-5953; or at
www.cityofarcata.org. EOE.

Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community
of the Trinidad Rancheria
Employments Applications
available in Human Resources/
Seascape/ Cher-Ae Heights Casino
or our website at
www.cheraeheightscasino.com
Cher-Ae Heights is an alcohol and
drug free workplace with
required testing.

Community
SEX/ PORN DAMAGING YOUR
LIFE & RELATIONSHIPS ? Confidential help is available. saahumboldt@yahoo.com or 845-8973
(C-1226)
BECOME A FOSTER PARENT.
Provide a safe and stable environment for youth 13-18 for them to
learn and grow in their own community. Contact the Humboldt
County Department of Health
and Human Services Foster Care
Hotline at 441-5013 and ask for
Peggy. (C-1226)

616 Second St.
Old Town Eureka
707.443.7017
artcenterframeshop
@gmail.com

Furniture
TEMPUR-PEDIC FOR SALE. California King Tempur-Pedic mattress and box springs. This is the
BellaSonna model and is about
two years old. Entire set is in
like new condition. This mattress is medium to firm support.
Originally sold for approx. $5,000,
selling for $2,000. Injuries from a
recent accident are forcing us into
a softer mattress. Text message to
845-4698 only. Available to view in
the evenings. (BST-1226)

THE SPINE IS YOUR CONDUIT
FOR LIFE-FORCE ENERGY. Open to
the Alignment of Your Whole Self:
Chiropractic by Dr. Scott Winkler,
D.C. and Energy Work by Rebecca
Owen. 822-1676. (MB-0919)
COACHING FOR PERSONAL EVOLUTION WITH REBECCA OWEN.
Access your wholeness by cultivating your Presence in the Now
and learning to clear old patterns.
822-5253. (MB-0919)
HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT. Bachelors,
Masters, D.D./Ph.D., distance
learning, University of Metaphysical Sciences. Bringing professionalism to metaphysics. (707)
822-2111 (MB-0606)
ZUMBA WITH MARLA JOY. Elevate, Motivate, Celebrate another
day of living. Exercise in Disguise.
Now is the time to start, don’t
wait. All ability levels are welcome. Every Mon. and Thurs. at
the Bayside Grange 6-7 p.m., 2297
Jacoby Creek Rd. $6/$4 Grange
members. Every Wed. 6-7 p.m. in
Fortuna at the Monday Club, 610
Main St. Every Tues. at the Trinidad Town Hall, Noon and every
Thurs. at the Eureka Vets Hall,
Noon. Marla Joy (707) 845-4307,
marlajoy.zumba.com (MB-1226)
AIKIDO. Is an incredibly fascinating and enriching non-violent
martial art with its roots in traditional Japanese budo. Focus is on
personal growth and pursuit of
deeper truth instead of competition and fighting. Yet the physical
power you can develop is very
real. Come observe any time
and give it a try! The dojo is on
Arcata Plaza above the mattress
store, entrance is around back.
Class every weeknight starting
at 6 p.m., beginning enrollment is
ongoing. www.northcoastaikido.
org, info@northcoastaikido.org,
826-9395. (MB-1226)
ASTROLOGY & TAROT. With
Salina Rain: Readings, Counseling
and Classes. Mon., 1:25 p.m. KHSU
90.5 FM. (707) 668-5408. astro@
salinarain.com, www.salinarain.
com. (MB-0606)

real estate
4 bed, 2.5 bath, 1708 sq ft Cutten home with
a second unit on the property, it is a 12’ x 60’
manufactured 720 sq ft home, both of these
are currently being rented, large lot with
shared driveway

+/- 2.25 acres waiting for your dream
home to be built. This private parcel
features harvestable timber, deeded
water rights to a well, cleared building
site and plenty of seclusion while
located only five minutes from Eureka.

$129,000

Indian Island NEW LISTING!
Single Family Home

Leggett Land/Property

$159,000

$249,000

Be one of the elite residents of this unique island
property with a cute one bedroom cabin. Boat
accessible only. Perfect fisherman’s getaway.

+/-40 acres located on Bell Springs Road in
Northern Mendocino County. This property
boasts large year round springs, timber,
open meadows, picturesque views, year
round access and gently sloping topography.